Australia building world’s first platypus sanctuary
Sydney, AustraliaReuters Australian conservationists on Wednesday unveiled plans to build the world’s first refuge for the platypus, to promote breeding and rehabilitation as the duck-billed mammal faces extinction due to climate change. The Taronga Conservation Society Australia and the New South Wales State Government said they would build the specialist facility, mostly ponds and burrows […]
Drying habitat makes Australia’s platypus vulnerable, scientists say
Sydney, AustraliaReuters Australian scientists pushed on Monday to list the platypus as a vulnerable species after a report showed the habitat of the semi-aquatic native mammal had shrunk more than a fifth in the last 30 years. Severe drought brought by climate change, land clearing for farming and dam-building are to blame, said researchers at […]
Scientists urge more protection for platypus in Australian state
Sydney, AustraliaReuters Australian scientists have called for the platypus to be listed as a vulnerable species in Victoria state, after research found dwindling numbers of the semi-aquatic mammal because of loss of habitat and a warming climate. Ecologist Joshua Griffiths, who supervised the collection of data that led to the recommendation by a scientific advisory […]
Australia’s platypus fights for survival amid prolonged drought
Sydney, AustraliaReuters Australia’s platypus is under severe stress as the continent’s prolonged drought dries up river beds, leaving one of the world’s most peculiar animals fighting for its existence, scientists say. The intensity of Australia’s three-year drought on top of other factors such as land clearing, dam construction and climate change is worsening the survival […]