A tiny juvenile female platypus was found recently in a moribund state on the banks of the Coliban River at Malmsbury by early morning walkers.
She was in very poor condition and died shortly before biologists from the Australian Platypus Conservancy arrived to transfer her to Healesville Sanctuary for specialised care.
Malmsbury Landcare member Chris Bromley, who also runs the River Detectives program at Malmsbury Primary School, said that while the death of such a special animal was extremely sad it also had a silver lining.
“The fact that this juvenile was found right in the heart of Malmsbury clearly demonstrates that successful breeding is taking place here and helps confirm that a healthy population resides in this section of the Coliban River,” Chris said.
“We feel that this reflects the considerable work done by landcare, North Central Catchment Management Authority and council to enhance habitat conditions.
“The fact that in 2021, the Malmsbury Reservoir spilled, and the river maintained a more natural flow, from July to November, also provided an essential trigger to platypus breeding that has been lacking over much of the past two decades.”
Australian Platypus Conservancy biologist Dr Melody Serena said juvenile platypus were starting to emerge from their nursery burrows at this time of the year and these inexperienced and naïve youngsters often ended up in difficulties.
The juveniles will often move on to the river banks where they can be attacked by foxes and dogs. If people find one that is reasonably active the best thing is to return it carefully to the nearest waterway as it may simply be lost.
“It’s a tough start for these little animals,” Dr Serena said.
“They have to learn to swim and find their own food in a very short period of time before their fat reserves run out.
“A high percentage don’t make it, particularly if they were the less dominant of a pair of twins and so didn’t get as much of the mother’s milk as their sibling.”
The little female at Malmsbury is typical of the juveniles that struggle to get through the initial period of independence, weighing just over 350 grams and with very poor body condition, assessed by a Tail Fat Index of 4.5 (on a five-point scale).
You can obtain a free PDF version of the Conservancy’s leaflet Platypus Emergency Care, which provides recommendations on how best to deal with displaced or injured animals, by contacting the APC on platypus.apc@westnet.com.au.
