![]() ![]() They run across the waterway, from bank to bank, guiding any unsuspecting platypus into a funnel that rests half in, half out of the water to allow them to breathe. We make our way down to the stream and, wading in carefully on the rocky bottom, unfurl the fyke nets. My borrowed waders are so large that I’m forced to hold them up at the crotch to avoid tripping over them. We turn off at a small community park, grab two nets, and set off towards the stream. We pass a tractor and road signs warning of koala and kangaroo crossing. We drive north-east, family suburbs gradually giving way to old farmland, now divided into large blocks with eucalyptus trees shading the lawns. After a quick safety briefing, we jump into a truck loaded with nets, wooden stakes, warm clothes, and baggy rubber waders. That’s why scientist Tamielle Brunt is trapping platypus around urban Brisbane, to try and understand if and how the platypus can live alongside people near one of Australia’s largest cities.īut as I’m learning, trapping platypus is akin to searching for a needle in a haystack. The incredible little mammal wriggling in the net at my feet is in trouble - threats like habitat loss, pollution, and drowning in fishing nets are taking their toll on platypus populations, which are declining rapidly across Australia. My hands are numb, I’ve barely slept, and in my too-large waders I’m perpetually one wrong step away from face-planting into the water.īut I don’t care… because we just caught a platypus. It’s 5:10am and I’m standing thigh-deep in a frigid stream under a road bridge, just a few kilometers north of metropolitan Brisbane.
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