Dangerous Creatures: Platypus

(Eastern Australia, Tasmania)

   Both have webbed feet and a bill. But the platypus is a mammal. The duck is a bird.
   The platypus hunts for its food underwater.
   The Australian mainland, Tasmania and New Guinea are the homes of some very odd-looking animals.
   Now that you’ve seen it from the outside, let’s see what’s inside a platypus.
   It doesn’t have huge fangs or terrifying claws. So what is dangerous about a platypus?
   A platypus has only one other relative that also lays eggs: the echidna.
   Video: A platypus may look cuddly, but don’t try to make one into a pet. Like all wild animals, it’s happiest and healthiest in its own environment: an Australian pond or stream.
   Advice: Don’t pet a platypus. Unless you know it’s a female. The males have sharp, venomous spikes on their back legs. Actually, the females probably wouldn’t appreciate being handled either.

Next: The platypus is a monotreme (an egg-laying mammal). It’s just one of the many oddities of Australian wildlife.