Periodic surveys are also being undertaken to assess the continued availability of the platypuses’ known food sources, such as mayfly larvae, yabbies and worms. Water quality loggers have been installed to monitor changes in sediment loads and oxygen availability. Recovery teams have installed aeration pumps that create water movement, encouraging circulation and providing better habitat for the insects and invertebrates that platypus dine out on. Wildlife recovery teams from the Department for Environment and Water are doing a lot of work to help this much-loved mammal survive following the fires.Īfter the fires, platypuses faced a significant risk from the effect of ash and sediment entering their pools, removing oxygen and ruining the water quality, and with it, their food supply. While the recent fires devastated much of Flinders Chase, there’s thankfully been a number of sightings of platypus in their usual spots within the park. With SA experiencing its driest summer and start to autumn in many years, it’s thought the increased number of sightings last year may have been due to low water levels in the waterholes rather than any increase in the population. Many park visitors were lucky enough to see platypuses while on the Platypus Waterholes Walk last year, which is a two-hour return walk from the Flinders Chase Visitor Centre. The bulk of the population on KI live around waterholes in Rocky River and Breakneck River. Platypus are secretive, often going about their lives discretely, requiring patience and a keen eye to spot them. Before the firesīefore the bushfires, KI’s platypus population was understood to be thriving, estimated at about 150 platypuses. Platypuses are generally found in and around the waterholes in the Rocky River region of Flinders Chase National Park, but the devastating 2019-20 summer bushfires severely impacted their habitat in this west-coast park. This unique species was one of many introduced to KI in the 1920s when the island was identified as a refuge for threatened wildlife. There’s really only one place in South Australia to see a platypus in the wild, and that’s on Kangaroo Island (KI).
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