Platypus Diary

Pebbles the platypus lives in Ten Mile Creek in rural south-east Queensland near the NSW border. Every month she writes about her life in her burrow, her creek and how she copes with the changing seasons and conditions.

What happened in October? Find out more about the adventures of Pebbles the Platypus...

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September

It looks like I'm going to have a family this year!

I've extended my burrow to make sure I have somewhere suitable to lay my eggs. I've lived in this area all my life so I know my burrow is in a good spot in the bank - nice and stable and lots of cover.

I started digging around making the burrow all ready for raising little platypuses. It took a lot of work with my front feet and my bill but now I've got a good long burrow. It runs about ten metres back into the bank and even has side tunnels. It has holes above and below the water level hidden by overhanging vegetation so that I can go in and out.

I made sure that I dug where there are lots of tree roots in the bank. Tree roots make the burrow safe and stable. Luckily humans don't take out the trees along the creek here and they don't let cattle trample the bank. A riverbank without trees makes it very difficult for mother platypuses to build safe homes for their families.

The room where I've made the nest is about the size of a shoe box. I've packed it with green and dry vegetation such as grass and reeds, fern roots, and wattle twigs. I spent days picking leaves up in my bill and dragging them back in bunches to the burrow with my tail curled round them.