Back in May 2023, ten platypuses were released into Sydney’s Royal National Park – the first known in the area for decades (the cute beaked creatures had been locally extinct for 50 years). Seven months on, and according to tracking data – as well as reports of regular sightings in the Royal National Park – the new population is thriving.
Arguably Australia’s most absurdly adorable animals, the semi-aquatic mammals have been an endangered species for decades, with platypus populations across Australia declining by around 31 per cent in the past 30 years and the Australian Conservation Foundation listing them as at risk of extinction.
A chemical spill on the Princes Highway back in the 1970s wiped out the entire population of adorable fur babies that had been calling the RNP home, and it wasn’t until May 2023 that platypus had set foot (paddle?) back in Australia’s oldest national park. The reintroduction program is a collaboration between Platypus Conservation Initiative (UNSW Sydney), WWF-Australia, NSW National Parks Wildlife Service and Taronga Conservation Society – aiming to re-establish the RNP (the traditional lands of the Dharawal people) as a sanctuary for the precious little beings.
According to the tracking system used to monitor the reintroduced population, all five of the male platypuses are alive and thriving in the area they were released into, and four of the five females. The fifth (adventurous) female took off beyond the monitoring catchment area, but the conservation team are confident that she’s off exploring local creeks, and will “reconnect soon” as she has previously.
"The reintroduction has exceeded our expectations. The platypuses have adapted exceptionally well to the Royal National Park, a testament to the robustness of both the species and the habitat,” says lead researcher Dr Gilad Bino from UNSW’s Centre for Ecosystem Science.
Over the next 12 months, the research team plans to conduct comprehensive surveys in the park to assess the breeding success and overall health of the platypus population. The intended outcome is for the new residents to breed and raise healthy baby platypuses in the area – and based on recent sightings, the chance of spotting a tiny platypus in the wild isn’t out of the question.