Habits: The duckbill platypus always lives near water – mostly in the rivers of eastern Australia and Tasmania. It nests in tunnels that it digs in the riverbanks or it lives in deep crevices and little caves in rocky banks. Its tunnels can run 50 feet long or more. The platypus is amphibious (lives both on land and in water) and dives and swims well. It is a loner except during breeding season and is territorial, defending its own stretch of river from intruders. The platypus uses its strong webbed front feet for both swimming and burrowing. When it walks on land it curls its feet under its body to protect them. Broad front feet make the platypus a powerful underwater swimmer, while smaller hind feet provide agility.

Food and Hunting: The platypus hunts in the water for prey such as insect larvae, water snails, and small crustaceans. Underwater it closes its eyes, ears, and nostrils and sweeps its brood bill from side to side to locate prey. The bill is soft and pliable, not hard like a duck's, and is highly sensitive. The platypus swims along using its front feet only. Most of its dives last between 30 seconds and a minute and a half. It sometimes remains underwater by wedging itself beneath a log or under a stone. 

On the river bottom, the platypus fills pouches in its cheeks with food. When its cheek pouches are full, the platypus surfaces and discards any sand and stones it has picked up, then grinds the food between horny plates it has instead of teeth. The platypus’s beak is the ideal tool for feeding on the beds of slow rivers and streams. Broad front feet make the platypus a powerful swimmer, while smaller hind feet provide agility.

Breeding: The male and female platypus mate between August and October. The pair court by swimming around each other. Then the female platypus digs a long nesting tunnel in the riverbank with a chamber at its end. The nesting tunnel is longer than the platypus’s home tunnel – it may be as long as 65 feet. The female collects grass and leaves, grasps them under her tail, and carries them back to the tunnel to construct a nest. There she lays two white, soft-shelled eggs that she incubates by holding them snugly between her tail and belly. 

Each egg is about the size of a marble. The hatching period is variable. After one to two weeks the eggs hatch and the young make their way through their mother's fur to suckle at her milk glands. The young stay in the burrow up to five months and continue to suckle after they have left the burrow. Boulder strewn streams offer the platypus deep crevices in which to nest, while their waters yield plentiful food.

Special Adaptations:

Life in the water: The duckbill platypus is well adapted to life on the river. It has brood, webbed feet, a streamlined body, and slick, waterproof fur. It swims by rowing with its front legs, first one and then the other. It closes its eyes, nostrils, and ears when underwater.
Climate: The platypus thrives in many climates. Its thick fur allows it to live in cold mountain streams as well as in rivers in warm tropical rain forests.

Key Facts: Sizes, Breeding, Lifestyle, Related Species:

Sizes:
Length: Varies with location. Male, 1 ½ - 2 ft. Female, up to 1 ½ ft.
Weight: Usually less than 4 lb.

Breeding:
Sexual maturity: Not known
Breeding season: August to October, varying with latitude
Incubation: 1-2 weeks
No. of young: Usually 2, sometimes 1 or 3

Lifestyle:
Habit: Solitary
Diet: Aquatic invertebrates

Related Species: The duckbill platypus is the only species in the family Ornithorhynchidae. Its closest relatives, the two echidnas of Australia and New Guinea, are the only other members of the order Monotremata.

Distribution: Slow flowing streams and rivers; some lakes in eastern Australia And Tasmania

Conservation: The platypus is protected but rare, even in suitable sites. Its habitat is sensitive to pollution, disturbance, and development. Conservation of the platypus and its habitat is vital.

Special Adaptations of the Duckbill Platypus:

Bill: Sweeps the riverbed for prey
Fur: Thick and slick. Provides excellent water resistance
Forefeet: Expanding and webbed for fast swimming. Powerful claws for burrowing
Hind feet: For steering. Less powerful than forefeet
Poisonous spur: Connected to venom gland. Can kill a dog. Used in male rivalry fights

Did You Know:

The platypus is one of the most primitive mammals in existence. The only other mammals that lay eggs are the platypus's only relatives, the echidnas.
The platypus's body temperature is 90 degrees Fahrenheit, which is low for a mammal.
specimen of this mammal was exhibited in England in the late 1700s people thought it was a fake. Scientists believed a prankster had sewn a duck's beak onto a mammal's body.
The duckbill platypus can squeeze through narrow spaces. Its flexible body is a strong muscular tube.
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