'Extraordinary' white platypus filmed basking in Aussie creek
The discovery of the rare white platypus has prompted calls for the species to be better protected.
With its duck-like bill and ability to lay eggs, when British scientists were sent a platypus specimen in 1799 they suspected it was a hoax.
“It naturally excites the idea of some deceptive preparation by artificial means," zoologist George Shaw wrote.
So what would have they made of an "extraordinary" white-coloured platypus?
More than 200 years on, that’s exactly what a team of University of New England investigators have discovered, and they’ve got documentary evidence to prove that it's 100 per cent real. Over 28 months, they catalogued several observations, along with photographs and video of the creature swimming in a Northern Tablelands creek in NSW.
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“Platypus are one of the world’s most extraordinary animals. Many people may never encounter this unique mammal in the wild and we were fortunate to observe, and capture footage of, this rare white platypus!” researcher Lou Streeting said.
Although the footage was shot from a distance and the encounters are brief, it's still exciting to see the tiny creature standing out against the brown creek water.
You can watch several of the sightings in the video below, including one where you can clearly see its face.
Why is the platypus white?
Having searched through newspapers and journals, Streeting has only been able to locate 12 records of albino or leucistic platypus since 1835.
It’s believed the animal she’s been documenting is leucistic, a condition of reduced pigmentation that can occur due to either environmental or genetic factors. While rare in platypus, it is frequently documented in several birds living in urban areas, particularly among magpies, but sometimes kookaburras as well.
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The discovery of the white platypus has sparked a renewed call from the Australian Conservation Foundation for all platypus to be better protected.
Ordinarily coloured brown, platypus camouflage well in the muddy creeks they live in, and this makes them hard to observe. While their exact population is unknown, what has been established is their habitat has shrunk by over 22 per cent in just 30 years and they are in decline, and in 2021 the Victorian government listed them as vulnerable to extinction.
“Platypus are threatened by humans and the things we do. They have been badly affected by dams and the over-extraction of water from rivers, land clearing, attacks by foxes and dogs, pollution and suburban sprawl,” ACF campaigner Peta Bulling said.
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