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Platypus Conservation Initiative Profile
Platypus Conservation Initiative

@Platypus_CI

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182

Conserving platypuses and their freshwater habitats through research, advocacy, and education for over a decade.

Joined August 2020
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@Platypus_CI
Platypus Conservation Initiative
23 days
This rescued juvenile platypus melted 8 million hearts on Instagram. Now it's your turn, X. Cared for by @Platypus_CI and released back home. We promise it’s the cutest thing you’ll see. Let’s break the internet. Share far and wide!🧡
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@Platypus_CI
Platypus Conservation Initiative
20 days
After 62 years, it lives! Attenborough’s long-beaked echidna, one of the world’s rarest mammals, has been rediscovered in New Guinea. Guided by Indigenous knowledge, researchers captured it using camera traps.
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@Platypus_CI
Platypus Conservation Initiative
23 days
Ahrens (2025) shows Melbourne’s smaller dams (~30-40m) allow platypus gene flow, sustaining connectivity. But Mijangos (2022) finds tall dams (>70m) block migration, increasing genetic divergence. Bypass structures and translocation across large dams are key for platypus
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@Platypus_CI
Platypus Conservation Initiative
29 days
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@Platypus_CI
Platypus Conservation Initiative
29 days
Exciting news from Royal National Park! More platypuses are being reintroduced, bolstering a thriving population after decades of absence. This conservation success story is a testament to collaborative efforts in restoring native wildlife .
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@Platypus_CI
Platypus Conservation Initiative
1 month
Platypuses have 10 sex chromosomes (males 5X+5Y, females 10X). Most mammals have just two (XY/XX). Birds use a ZW system (ZZ/ZW). The echidna, another monotreme, also has multiple sex chromosomes, with males having 9 (5X + 4Y) and females having 10X.
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@Platypus_CI
Platypus Conservation Initiative
1 month
What is unique about the platypus sex chromosome system compared to most mammals? Check the comments for the answer and how it stacks up against other species #WeirdScience
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@Platypus_CI
Platypus Conservation Initiative
1 month
The platypus!.Mammals like the platypus trace back over 200 million years. The first flowering plants? Only about 130 million years ago.
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@Platypus_CI
Platypus Conservation Initiative
1 month
What came first — the flower or the platypus?.Answer in the comment below 👀.#evolution #naturequiz
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@Platypus_CI
Platypus Conservation Initiative
1 month
Fossil find shakes up platypus & echidna origins! A 100M-year-old bone suggests their ancestor, Kryoryctes, was a swimmer, not a land-dweller. #Science #Wildlife .
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@Platypus_CI
Platypus Conservation Initiative
1 month
5/5 The Platypus Conservation Initiative is dedicated to protecting platypus habitats through research and collaboration. Our work, like the Snowy River study, informs strategies to safeguard burrows and boost breeding success.
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@Platypus_CI
Platypus Conservation Initiative
1 month
4/5 Consistent water levels reduce erosion and flooding risks, fostering healthy platypus populations.
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@Platypus_CI
Platypus Conservation Initiative
1 month
3/5 Stable lows, like those from WaterNSW’s initiative, help ensure breeding success. Our Snowy River study (shows managed water flows create stable riverbank conditions, supporting platypus burrow integrity.
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@Platypus_CI
Platypus Conservation Initiative
1 month
2/5 Platypuses build burrows along riverbanks to lay eggs and raise young. These burrows, dug into stable soil above waterlines, are vulnerable to fluctuating water levels. Sudden rises can flood nests, threatening eggs and juveniles.
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@Platypus_CI
Platypus Conservation Initiative
1 month
1/5 WaterNSW is implementing an early water transfer in the Hawkesbury-Nepean system to encourage platypuses to burrow higher during the breeding season and help protect their breeding burrows from inundation @NSWDCCEEW_Water.
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@Platypus_CI
Platypus Conservation Initiative
2 months
The platypus sports the second-densest fur among mammals—up to 800 hairs per square millimeter, just behind the sea otter's 1,000 hpsm. This waterproof coat, with coarse guard hairs and soft underfur, traps air to insulate against cold water, perfect for chilly streams.
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@Platypus_CI
Platypus Conservation Initiative
2 months
RT @theCEWH: An important CEWH funded research project is looking at the impact of #waterfortheenvironment on Northern Basin platypus. @UNS….
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@Platypus_CI
Platypus Conservation Initiative
2 months
Puggles hatch from eggs after ~10 days and nurse from milk patches in their mother’s burrow for 3-4 months. At emergence, they’re about 80% of adult size, with venomous spurs already forming in males. They start hunting small prey like insects and crustaceans right away
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@Platypus_CI
Platypus Conservation Initiative
2 months
Monitoring at Bullockhead Creek with @BrisbaneCityQLD and @WildlifeQLD reveals a platypus travelled over 18km, highlighting the importance of connected waterways for their survival. Collaborating with diverse stakeholders is crucial to protect our waterways @CES_UNSW
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