What other animals are found where a platypus lives?

Answer 1

The only mammal which shares the platypus's immediate environment is the water rat: platypuses and water rats are the only mammals which live in burrows in freshwater riverbanks or creek banks.

Other mammals may be found in nearby bushland, but do not dig in the riverbanks. These animals include the wombat, bandicoot, red-necked wallaby and swamp wallaby, to name a few.

Other members of the animal kingdom which are not mammals can be found in the platypus's environment. Kingfishers and water lizards such as the eastern water dragon can be found in platypus's habitat, as well as frogs and various freshwater turtles. There may be moorhens, swamp hens, kookaburras and kingfishers. Nearby, you may find a variety of lyrebirds, rosellas, lorikeets and cockatoos. Because platypuses are not restricted to rainforest, but are equally found in general bushland and scrubland where there are rivers, native marsupials such as kangaroos, wallabies, wombats, koalas, potoroos, quolls and bandicoots may share the habitat. In Tasmania, the Tasmanian devil is a near-neighbour. Echidnas are found all over Australia, so will readily be found in platypus habitat also.

Lizards such as the eastern water dragon, and green tree snakes may also live in the same region, as may pythons, brown snakes, red bellied black snakes and so on. Turtles and frogs also may live in the same waterways as platypuses.

Answer 2

The only mammal which shares the platypus's habitat is the water rat: platypuses and water rats are the only mammals which live in burrows in freshwater riverbanks or creek banks.

Other mammals may be found in nearby bushland, but do not dig in the riverbanks. These animals include the wombat, bandicoot, red-necked wallaby and swamp wallaby, to name a few.

Other members of the animal kingdom which are not mammals can be found in the platypus's environment. Kingfishers and water lizards such as the eastern water dragon can be found in platypus's habitat, as well as frogs and various freshwater turtles. There may be moorhens, swamp hens, kookaburras and kingfishers. Nearby, you may find a variety of lyrebirds, rosellas, lorikeets and cockatoos. Because platypuses are not restricted to rainforest, but are equally found in general bushland and scrubland where there are rivers, native marsupials such as kangaroos, wallabies, wombats, koalas, potoroos, quolls and bandicoots may share the habitat. In Tasmania, the Tasmanian devil is a near-neighbour. Echidnas are found all over Australia, so will readily be found in platypus habitat also.

Lizards such as the eastern water dragon, and green tree snakes may also live in the same region, as may pythons, brown snakes, red bellied black snakes and so on. Turtles and frogs also may live in the same waterways as platypuses.

Answer 3

There are not many animals in the wild that eat platypuses, because they mainly hunt underwater and live in hidden shelters, from tropical north regions to the sub-alpine areas of southern Australia.

Red foxes prey on younger platypuses, and feral cats are another platypus predator.

Natural predators of the platypus include snakes, water rats, goannas, spotted quolls, eels, hawks, owls and eagles. In the north of its range, dingoes are another predator. Lower platypus numbers in far northern Australia are possibly due to predation by crocodiles. On occasion, large freshwater eels (which may be twice the length of a platypus) have been thought to eat platypuses.

Answer 4

Natural predators of the platypus include snakes, water rats, goannas, spotted quolls, eels, hawks, owls and eagles. In the north of its range, dingoes are another predator. Lower platypus numbers in far northern Australia are possibly due to predation by crocodiles.

Answer 5

No animals rely on the platypus for food. The platypus has a few predators, but these animals will feed on many other organisms rather than platypuses. Natural predators of the platypus include snakes, water rats, goannas, spotted quolls, dingoes, eels, hawks, owls and eagles. Introduced predators include the red fox and feral cats.

Answer 6

Because the platypus is completely unique in its feeding habits and diet, there are few competitors for its food. The only vertebrates capable of digging in the soft mud of riverbeds and creekbeds are freshwater wading birds. These birds are more likely to frequent wetlands and marshlands, rather than the clear creeks and rivers that platypuses prefer.

Answer 7

Platypuses are native to Australia, and are found in tropical rainforests, warm-temperate and cool-temperate rainforests, and native eucalyptus bushland environments along the eastern coast and in the south. Only the Water Rat and the Brown Rat occupy the same niche as the platypus, being the only other mammals that swim regularly in freshwater creeks and rivers. Other animals which may live in the bushland nearby would include wallabies, koalas, possums, gliders, bandicoots and quolls.

Answer 8

The only mammal which shares the platypus's immediate environment is the water rat: platypuses and water rats are the only mammals which live in burrows in freshwater riverbanks or creek banks.

Other mammals may be found in nearby bushland, but do not dig in the riverbanks. These animals include the wombat, bandicoot, red-necked wallaby and swamp wallaby, to name a few.

Other members of the animal kingdom which are not mammals can be found in the platypus's environment. Kingfishers and water lizards such as the eastern water dragon can be found in platypus's habitat, as well as frogs and various freshwater turtles.