World’s First Platypus Sanctuary
to Be Built in Australia.
On Wednesday, conservationists in Australia unveiled
plans to build the world’s first-ever refuge for platypuses. .
The sanctuary will promote breeding and
rehabilitation of the semiaquatic mammal.
The specialist facility will
be built through the
combined efforts of the
Taronga Conservation
Society Australia and
the New South Wales
State government.
It will consist of mostly ponds and burrows and be
located at a zoo that is 243 miles away from Sydney. .
The sanctuary is to be built by
2022 and house up to 65 platypuses. .
Platypuses have been at a heightened risk of
extinction since wildfires devastated 31 million
acres of Australian land in late 2019-2020.
A government inquiry concluded that
bushfires would be more likely to
occur due to warming temperatures
caused by climate change. .
Before the bushfires, the Taronga Conservation Society
Australia noted that an increased number of platypuses were
experiencing “climate-related injuries and illnesses.”.
There is so much to learn about the
platypus and we know so little … These
facilities will be critical in building our
knowledge so that we don’t let this
iconic creature slip off the earth, Cameron Kerr, CEO of Taronga Conservation
Society Australia, via Reuters