The Victorian government is investing $5 million in platypus conservation by building a new sanctuary for the marsupials and creating Platycam, a platypus livestream.
Platypuses are vulnerable to habitat loss across Australia and are considered endangered in South Australia while threatened in Victoria. The World Wildlife Foundation notes that numbers in some areas have decreased by as much as 65 per cent.
This is where conservation methods come in, like the new platypus conservation centre. The centre will be built at Zoos Victoria’s Healesville Sanctuary and will allow for researchers to observe the creatures in a habitat built for them. Having a habitat built at the Healesville Sanctuary also allows for the treatment and care of wild platypuses if needed.
“This new research and conservation centre will ensure our expert scientists can continue to work on protecting the iconic platypus in a state-of-the-art facility,” says Lily D’Ambrosio, the Victorian government’s Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change.
“We are continuing to invest in protecting Victoria’s diverse and wonderful native wildlife, supporting critical research, habitat protection and the amazing efforts of wildlife carers.”
As an extension of the investment in Platypus conservation, $300,000 is going towards restoring natural platypus habitats, along with the installation of Platycam at Hamilton’s Grange Burne waterway. We don’t know much about Platycam so far, only that it’ll be adorable if it lives up to the name.
If you can’t help yourself and want to watch a platypus livestream right now, the San Diego Zoo has a stream dedicated to the adorable creature, along with other animals like giraffes, tigers and elephants. Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary also provides a Platycam.
On top of platypus conservation, the Victorian government is also investing more than $870,000 in 14 other projects across the state, including the monitoring of the Bogong Moth in the Victorian Alps and the protection of the Brush-tailed Rock Wallaby.
This money is on top of $2.6 million in investment for the Icon Species Program, which has been operating for the past five years.
I’ll be sure to have Platycam open on a second monitor at all times when it goes live, just to stick to the Platypus beat.