March 05, 2021

Anna Murray 

Australia plans to build a first sanctuary for platypus in the world. This sanctuary prepares to prevent the species like platypus from becoming extinct. 

“This sanctuary will help us to understand more about platypus and right now, we do know little related to the platypus,” said Taronga chief executive officer Cameron Kerr. This refuge will hold around 65 platypuses and this facility will be used as a research center to study the reproductive biology of egg-laying animals. 

This refuge will lie in Dubbo, which is five hours away from Sydney. This special facility will be designed to have many ponds and burrows for semiaquatic animals. The Taronga Conservation Society Australia and the New South Wales State Government will open this sanctuary for platypuses in 2022.

The plan of building this sanctuary for platypuses was motivated by the intense wildfires in Australia. It is also called “Black Summer” in late 2019 and early 2020. 

This wildfire caused the habitats of platypuses more droughts and less rainfall. This made their living more severe. 

The study found out that last three decades, the habitats of platypuses have decreased up to 30%. Last year, scientist noticed that platypuses will be an endangered species. Researchers claimed that the loss of small rivers and streams caused by climate change would influence the habitats for platypuses to search for food or to lay eggs. 

Scientists from the Ecosystem center of New South Wales University stated last year that if the threat from climate change still remains, the number of platypuses will decrease up to 66 percent in next 50 years and 73 percent by 2070.

Photo:Webshot.