The platypus is a territorial animal that uses the venomous
spurs on its hind legs to defend itself. Females, however, do not have the
venomous spurs and are in fact actually not quite as territorial as the male
platypus. Males are not involved in raising the young, which results in females
being more territorial regarding the protection of their babies. Furthermore
males fight each other in pursuit of females during the mating season. This is
another time in which the male platypus uses its venomous spurs for their
personal gain. Solitary animals,
the platypus is generally a shy creature that spends most of its time in their
personal burrows in the riverbanks with entrances only slightly higher than
water level. Unfortunately, there isn’t very much known about the territorial
behavior of platypus because of their solitary nature. Some of the most
concrete indications of their territorial behavior comes from reports of fighting
between platypus in specific areas.
While there isn’t a whole lot of information about the
platypus territorial behavior I did learn some interesting facts while I was
researching . Apparently, one really prominent aspect of the platypus behavior
is grooming, which they perform meticulously in the water occasionally, but
mostly on a surface out of the water like a log or a rock. I also sadly discovered
that the platypus is sadly now extinct in South Australia, and that different
regions have different names for the platypus. For example, some indigenous
people call them “boondaburra, mallangong, tambreet,” or “tohunbuck”.
FUN PLATYPUS VIDEO OF THE WEEK!!: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6JzvzUXwZ0
http://www.reptilepark.com.au/animalprofile.asp?id=159
hi
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