The World's First Platypus Sanctuary Will Open in Australia
- 3 years ago
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
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