Where do they live?

Platypuses occur in freshwater systems from tropical rainforest lowlands and plateaus of far northern Queensland to cold, high altitudes of Tasmania and the Australian Alps. Elusive by nature, there’s a lack of reliable data about where and in what numbers they occur. Their distribution is unpredictable, as they appear to be absent from some relatively healthy rivers yet have been found in others that are quite degraded.

Platypuses make their home in and near freshwater creeks, slow-moving rivers, lakes joined by rivers, and built water storages such as farm dams.

They build a simple burrow in a riverbank, just above water level and often among a tangle of tree roots.