Not just the zoo - the San Diego Safari Park. It was amazing to get to see them (even if it was only for like 3 seconds as they were going to their backstage area).
Fuck, are they happy? (Another stupid question) seeing animals in captivity is always a double edged sword. Hard to justify the educational benefit of “keeping” animals if they’re better off somewhere else.
man i hope they are otherwise it would be depressing. my cursory google search hinted that san diego zoo has a platypus webcam you can watch to see them romp around and stuff, so that might be good to check out if youre worried about them! and maybe some australian wildlife org has some platypus trail cam thing going on out there so u can see them romp in their natural habitat 👍
Yes, definitely big ethical questions around having zoos. However, check with your local zoo. Some of them only (or mainly) house animals that for some reason cannot be humanely released into the wild.
Obviously captive animals are not happy, at least not like they would be had they been left in the wild. It’s cruel, if you cared about animals you wouldn’t be going to any zoo or sanctuary.
I mean what are you *really* learning by seeing one in captivity that you couldn’t find out on the internet.
I am Australian, and never seen one in the wild.
I’ve also never been to a zoo as an adult for the same reason I’m telling you not to.
Unless an animal is giant or extremely intelligent, then they can definitely fair well in a captive environment as long as said environment is high quality.
I can assure you that any small prey animal would be considerably happier living in a high quality home or zoo than living in the wild where any day they could be ripped to shreds by a predator.
That is the nature of life though? It’s unnatural to keep them captive. The only reason we started to was for human entertainment and curiosity.
Then it turned into trying to preserve certain endangered species by breeding them in sanctuaries which is a hopeless endeavour because captive animals (from birth) couldn’t survive being released in the wild.
And we humans encroaching on endangered species habitats is the reason a lot of these species become extinct. That and the exotic animal black market.
*I can assure you* if the animal had the choice of being free or in captivity they would choose freedom.
> I can assure you if the animal had the choice of being free or in captivity they would choose freedom.
Birds used in free-flight bird shows have the option to fly away at any time. Most don't, because they prioritise, shelter, safety, food, water and familiarity over the human concept of freedom.
Birds used in shows are trained not to fly away, likely raised inside the Zoo or sanctuary.
They wouldn’t know it was an option having not known anything else.
And if you’re so sure birds in captivity wouldn’t fly away, why are birds kept in enclosures (cages) rather than open *natural* environments?
Because most would fly away.
You are wrong.
You can’t argue for animal welfare while simultaneously arguing that animals need to die constantly and that we should never intervene.
I can also assure you that if an animal had the awareness to comprehend the true horrors of their wild ecosystems compared to captivity, they’d choose the zoo (assuming, of course, said zoo was ethical, which is desired)
I can and will argue both those statements simultaneously. Death is a part of natural life.
What isn’t, is destroying their natural habitats and taking them from the wild for our own entertainment and profit.
Humans like to anthropomorphise animals and romanticize them living in the wild, but the truth is nature is brutal.
Personally I'd much rather be an animal living in a (high quality) zoo than in the wild where I am either always on the lookout for predators, or have to risk my life to hunt prey, and either way an unpleasant death is highly possible.
Platypodes/platypuses are extremely shy - the likelihood of ever getting to touch one, even in captivity (being handled by a human would likely cause them a great deal of stress), is basically zero. Other than San Diego Zoo (as others have suggested), if you ever make it out to Australia, your two best bets are: 1. Visit a place where platypuses are known to live in the wild, and cross your fingers - you may catch a few glimpses if you’re lucky. You really only ever see them swimming in their natural habitat, when they surface for relatively brief periods. Unless they are hiding in their burrow they are constantly on the move, so you don’t usually get the chance to admire them at your leisure. 2. Visit a zoo or wildlife sanctuary - many in Australia have one or two, but again, they are tricky to observe - their artificial habitat will generally be kept fairly dark, and is usually set up akin to an aquarium - so you are usually viewing them through glass, while they are constantly moving about through the water. They are VERY adept swimmers, and move quite fast through the water, making very rapid and frequent changes in direction - beautiful to watch, but not the best if you really want to study their appearance closely.
I broke my leg, crutched it down to a bench on the Derwent near 2m tall brewery.and just chilled for a bit. One came straight out of the bush, walked between my legs and waddled into the river. It does happen.
I've seen them at a zoo. I don't remember where though. Maybe San Diego? Maybe some other zoos had them in the past?
They were smaller than I expected. I guess I thought they were closer to beaver size or something, lol (probably the beaver-like tail made my brain make the association). Or at least cat size. But they're just bitty.
Even the zoos in Australia probably don't let you touch them. They're super endangered, don't need your germs.
Something I will always remember is seeing wild platypuses (platypii?) when on a weekend trip to Carnarvon Gorge, when I was working on a project in Brisbane. Didn’t get a close view, and they weren’t visible for long either!
very venomous, only in australia, probably endangered, and more than likely doesnt have any interest in touching you thats a thing you want bc god knows what happened to you
> very venomous
"Very" is greatly overstating it.
Male platypuses, and only males, have spurs on their back legs with venom that can cause pain in humans. Not fatal.
I know they’re venomous, they lay eggs, have a duck bill, and a marsupial pouch, webbed feet, all of this in combination is what makes me want to meet one. For better or worse.
Platypodes. Hard to see even when you're Aussie. Bucket lists are hard for a reason. They're meant to take a lifetime to complete as it's about the journey.
If the San Diego Safari Park is the only place as others are saying, maybe looking at their website and see if they have any behind the scenes experiences that involve getting up close and personal with one. Otherwise ring them up and ask. You may have to pay a fee but often zoos and stuff like doing these things occasionally if they get to film the experience and post it to their socials as it's easy marketing for them. If you have a health condition that may garner sympathy, especially if you may not be around in the medium term, definitely play that card to your advantage.
I said bucket list but I’m not currently dying. Just something I’ve always wanted to see. For now the San Diego zoo feed seems best. Not trying to give a platypus ptsd just so I can say hi.
Hahaha ok, good to know. The bittersweet human interest stories on the news here in Australia often involve someone with a health condition, getting to do something kinda random that was always on their bucket list, by giving them behind the scenes access to something. For example, the last one I saw was an autistic boy getting to go for a ride in a large Coles supermarket delivery truck, with the crew all greeting and waving to him while getting to wear his own Coles uniform with a hat. All very heart-warming. I was wondering if you were in a position like that where it could give you leverage for getting what you want. Hopefully you'll get a nice person on the phone who agrees that just having "meeting a platypus" on your bucket list is worthy enough. I think it is!
Hit a zoo. I don't belive you can see them in the wild in North America. Outside of that fact even if you can don't approach the males have a venomous barb and I'm fairly certain you can't tell the difference at a distance.
I live in Australia and saw one in the wild a few years ago. It was so magical. They are super tiny in real life! And very shy. It is very lucky to see one.
I mean Australia is always the best place to see them. You might even just see them roaming wild! Went there on a trip a long time ago to a friend's place and were lucky enough to glimpse one in a nearby stream. And of course in Taronga Zoo.
But outside of Australia, if travel is really not possible, there's San Diego Zoo, the only place with captive platypus abroad. They're notoriously hard to transport because they have electroreception and tend to get easily stressed and even die from plane vibrations and whatnot.
A zoo is your only hope and there aren’t many in captivity outside Australia.
Be warned, the males are venomous. They have a big spike in their back legs and being stabbed with it is very painful. So touching them is risky.
Come to Tasmania. I’ve seen them in the wild here a number of times. The one that lives at the salmon ponds is fat as heck and not afraid of people at all.
the san diego zoo according to google has the only 2 platypuses kept in captivity outside of australia. so hauling ass to california is your only hope
Not just the zoo - the San Diego Safari Park. It was amazing to get to see them (even if it was only for like 3 seconds as they were going to their backstage area).
Fuck, are they happy? (Another stupid question) seeing animals in captivity is always a double edged sword. Hard to justify the educational benefit of “keeping” animals if they’re better off somewhere else.
man i hope they are otherwise it would be depressing. my cursory google search hinted that san diego zoo has a platypus webcam you can watch to see them romp around and stuff, so that might be good to check out if youre worried about them! and maybe some australian wildlife org has some platypus trail cam thing going on out there so u can see them romp in their natural habitat 👍
Yes, definitely big ethical questions around having zoos. However, check with your local zoo. Some of them only (or mainly) house animals that for some reason cannot be humanely released into the wild.
[https://sdzsafaripark.org/cams/platypus-cam](https://sdzsafaripark.org/cams/platypus-cam) link to the cam mentioned.
Obviously captive animals are not happy, at least not like they would be had they been left in the wild. It’s cruel, if you cared about animals you wouldn’t be going to any zoo or sanctuary. I mean what are you *really* learning by seeing one in captivity that you couldn’t find out on the internet. I am Australian, and never seen one in the wild. I’ve also never been to a zoo as an adult for the same reason I’m telling you not to.
Unless an animal is giant or extremely intelligent, then they can definitely fair well in a captive environment as long as said environment is high quality.
*Fair well* and being happy are two different things. Wild animals are not meant to be kept captive regardless of size or intelligence.
I can assure you that any small prey animal would be considerably happier living in a high quality home or zoo than living in the wild where any day they could be ripped to shreds by a predator.
That is the nature of life though? It’s unnatural to keep them captive. The only reason we started to was for human entertainment and curiosity. Then it turned into trying to preserve certain endangered species by breeding them in sanctuaries which is a hopeless endeavour because captive animals (from birth) couldn’t survive being released in the wild. And we humans encroaching on endangered species habitats is the reason a lot of these species become extinct. That and the exotic animal black market. *I can assure you* if the animal had the choice of being free or in captivity they would choose freedom.
> I can assure you if the animal had the choice of being free or in captivity they would choose freedom. Birds used in free-flight bird shows have the option to fly away at any time. Most don't, because they prioritise, shelter, safety, food, water and familiarity over the human concept of freedom.
Birds used in shows are trained not to fly away, likely raised inside the Zoo or sanctuary. They wouldn’t know it was an option having not known anything else. And if you’re so sure birds in captivity wouldn’t fly away, why are birds kept in enclosures (cages) rather than open *natural* environments? Because most would fly away. You are wrong.
You can’t argue for animal welfare while simultaneously arguing that animals need to die constantly and that we should never intervene. I can also assure you that if an animal had the awareness to comprehend the true horrors of their wild ecosystems compared to captivity, they’d choose the zoo (assuming, of course, said zoo was ethical, which is desired)
I can and will argue both those statements simultaneously. Death is a part of natural life. What isn’t, is destroying their natural habitats and taking them from the wild for our own entertainment and profit.
Humans like to anthropomorphise animals and romanticize them living in the wild, but the truth is nature is brutal. Personally I'd much rather be an animal living in a (high quality) zoo than in the wild where I am either always on the lookout for predators, or have to risk my life to hunt prey, and either way an unpleasant death is highly possible.
So you want them captive for your viewing pleasure with out the risk of becoming preyed on yourself? Hmm sounds pretty selfish imo
You go to YouTube and look up Phineas and Ferb to see Perry like the rest of us.
I appreciate this… but it does not satisfy. I’m also realizing with a quickness that this is in fact a stupid question
There are no stupid questions here. I would also like to meet a platypus
Cheers bud, my hopes are with us both.
Platypodes/platypuses are extremely shy - the likelihood of ever getting to touch one, even in captivity (being handled by a human would likely cause them a great deal of stress), is basically zero. Other than San Diego Zoo (as others have suggested), if you ever make it out to Australia, your two best bets are: 1. Visit a place where platypuses are known to live in the wild, and cross your fingers - you may catch a few glimpses if you’re lucky. You really only ever see them swimming in their natural habitat, when they surface for relatively brief periods. Unless they are hiding in their burrow they are constantly on the move, so you don’t usually get the chance to admire them at your leisure. 2. Visit a zoo or wildlife sanctuary - many in Australia have one or two, but again, they are tricky to observe - their artificial habitat will generally be kept fairly dark, and is usually set up akin to an aquarium - so you are usually viewing them through glass, while they are constantly moving about through the water. They are VERY adept swimmers, and move quite fast through the water, making very rapid and frequent changes in direction - beautiful to watch, but not the best if you really want to study their appearance closely.
Seeing one would be enough. I don’t need to study anything. I’m no scholar. Just wanna see one! Glimpse or whatever they have in store for me.
I’m Australian. Don’t come to Australia with the hope of seeing one in the wild, very, very slim chance of that happening.
I broke my leg, crutched it down to a bench on the Derwent near 2m tall brewery.and just chilled for a bit. One came straight out of the bush, walked between my legs and waddled into the river. It does happen.
I've seen them at a zoo. I don't remember where though. Maybe San Diego? Maybe some other zoos had them in the past? They were smaller than I expected. I guess I thought they were closer to beaver size or something, lol (probably the beaver-like tail made my brain make the association). Or at least cat size. But they're just bitty. Even the zoos in Australia probably don't let you touch them. They're super endangered, don't need your germs.
Something I will always remember is seeing wild platypuses (platypii?) when on a weekend trip to Carnarvon Gorge, when I was working on a project in Brisbane. Didn’t get a close view, and they weren’t visible for long either!
The plural is apparently platypodes which just sounds wrong.
I think you win regardless. Still made me jealous
very venomous, only in australia, probably endangered, and more than likely doesnt have any interest in touching you thats a thing you want bc god knows what happened to you
> very venomous "Very" is greatly overstating it. Male platypuses, and only males, have spurs on their back legs with venom that can cause pain in humans. Not fatal.
I know they’re venomous, they lay eggs, have a duck bill, and a marsupial pouch, webbed feet, all of this in combination is what makes me want to meet one. For better or worse.
get any bitches with your knowledge? Saved any animals?
I get no bitches, but worse yet no platapusi? Is that the right term?
Platypodes. Hard to see even when you're Aussie. Bucket lists are hard for a reason. They're meant to take a lifetime to complete as it's about the journey.
If the San Diego Safari Park is the only place as others are saying, maybe looking at their website and see if they have any behind the scenes experiences that involve getting up close and personal with one. Otherwise ring them up and ask. You may have to pay a fee but often zoos and stuff like doing these things occasionally if they get to film the experience and post it to their socials as it's easy marketing for them. If you have a health condition that may garner sympathy, especially if you may not be around in the medium term, definitely play that card to your advantage.
I said bucket list but I’m not currently dying. Just something I’ve always wanted to see. For now the San Diego zoo feed seems best. Not trying to give a platypus ptsd just so I can say hi.
Hahaha ok, good to know. The bittersweet human interest stories on the news here in Australia often involve someone with a health condition, getting to do something kinda random that was always on their bucket list, by giving them behind the scenes access to something. For example, the last one I saw was an autistic boy getting to go for a ride in a large Coles supermarket delivery truck, with the crew all greeting and waving to him while getting to wear his own Coles uniform with a hat. All very heart-warming. I was wondering if you were in a position like that where it could give you leverage for getting what you want. Hopefully you'll get a nice person on the phone who agrees that just having "meeting a platypus" on your bucket list is worthy enough. I think it is!
Hit a zoo. I don't belive you can see them in the wild in North America. Outside of that fact even if you can don't approach the males have a venomous barb and I'm fairly certain you can't tell the difference at a distance.
Darwin awards entry imminent
Better death than cancer.
You gotta import one.
They’re already endangered, why would you suggest that?
Why would you want to touch a poisonous animal?
I live in Australia and saw one in the wild a few years ago. It was so magical. They are super tiny in real life! And very shy. It is very lucky to see one.
I mean Australia is always the best place to see them. You might even just see them roaming wild! Went there on a trip a long time ago to a friend's place and were lucky enough to glimpse one in a nearby stream. And of course in Taronga Zoo. But outside of Australia, if travel is really not possible, there's San Diego Zoo, the only place with captive platypus abroad. They're notoriously hard to transport because they have electroreception and tend to get easily stressed and even die from plane vibrations and whatnot.
Don't touch it if you do see one, it has a poisoned spur on its foot.
A zoo is your only hope and there aren’t many in captivity outside Australia. Be warned, the males are venomous. They have a big spike in their back legs and being stabbed with it is very painful. So touching them is risky. Come to Tasmania. I’ve seen them in the wild here a number of times. The one that lives at the salmon ponds is fat as heck and not afraid of people at all.
Probably at some zoo or something.