Plans are being made by the NSW Government and Mosman-based Taronga Conservation Society to construct the world’s first sanctuary for platypus, a species at risk of extinction due to climate change and drought.
There are currently plans in the works to construct a specialist facility that consists of ponds and burrows to provide platypuses with a safe environment where they can repopulate, be rehabilitated, and be studied.
The facility will be built 391km away from Sydney, set to finish construction by 2022. It will be able to house up to 65 platypuses. Given the creature’s highly specific needs to thrive, the platypus sanctuary will be able to give researchers insight on what environments and conditions they prefer.
Platypuses themselves are reclusive, curious-looking mammals that are semi-aquatic in nature, sporting fur, webbed feet, and a bill that helps them scoop up insects, shellfish, and worms. Despite the fact that platypuses are mammals, they lay eggs — a trait it shares with its close relative, the echidna — and live in small streams and lazy rivers.
They are considered a protected species, with fears that they might go extinct in the New South Wales region within the century. The droughts that followed the bushfires from 2019 to 2020 led to an increase in platypuses with climate-related injuries and illnesses.
The Taronga Zoo Sydney, managed by the Taronga Conservation Society, can be found at Bradleys Head Rd, open every day of the week from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. For more information, visit their website here. Follow the Taronga Zoo Sydney’s social media accounts on Facebook and Instagram for the latest updates and announcements.