PredatorsThe duck-billed platypus spends most of its time in the water or in a burrow so it is well protected from predators. There have been reports that platypuses have been hunted by crocodiles, goannas, carpet pythons, eagles and large native fish. It is also possible that wild dogs, dingoes and foxes hunt platypuses that move on land or in shallow waters.
|
Parasites & DiseaseThe duck-billed platypus also has ticks and one of them are their own tick species, lxodes ornithothynci. This tick is found around the hind limbs of the platypus and in the fur on the body. There have also been reports that the platypuses in Tasmania have been infected with skin ulcers cause by amphibian fungal infection, this can be fatal for the platypus if the fungus enters body tissues especially the lungs.
|