Platypus: A Closer Look

Where the Kermandie River crosses the Huon highway in Geeveston is a small section of the river that is dammed with stones making a very quiet section of water. Here we find the elusive Platypus. After our initial trip reported yesterday, we went back in the late afternoon, not long before sunset for another look.

Not really knowing what to expect, but fearing that these critters are elusive and rarely seen, we thought we'd be optimistic and just give it a try. Turns out, these fellows are not hard to find at all if you look in the right place.

At one time, there were four platypuses frolicing in the river. Two worked their way up river from us and we could no longer see them. We saw what appeared to be a juvenal and possibly a female, but maybe they were just both guys of different sizes (ages?).

It was a cloudy (there's a surprise) afternoon a bit after 4 (sunset about 5 - 5:20) with the ISO at 6400 that we encountered this fascinating creature again. You can see in the photo that his front feet are webbed.

This makes it possible for him to swim underwater with ease. When he surfaces, he lies flat in the water as if he were a u-boat skulking about the shore waiting for an enemy boat to sink.

The light vertical streaks reflected in the water at the piers of the Huon Highway just next to us. While there is not a lot of traffic on this road, there is traffic...both vehicular and pedestrian. This doesn't seem to bother the platypuses.

At this angle he seems to be staring right at me. It is a bit unnerving.

Here you can see that his back feet are not webbed but clawed. If you look carefully and count, you see four toes and something like an opposable thumb/toe in addition to the poisonous spur.

From this angle, the resemblance to a beaver is quite strong. The fur is dense (it has to be in the bone chilling water!) and the eyes are set very close to the duck-bill.

The nostrils are near the end of the beak.

From watching him swim and dive, it is clear that he is pretty agile in the water.

It must be hard work on the bottom finding food. He often seem to be kind of done-in when resting on the surface.

And sometimes, you've got to put into "dry-dock" along the shore for serious tummy scratch.

I expect we'll visit this place again before we head back to the mainland. What a special treat!