The Platypus

The creek was the color of weak tea, a bronze brew that filtered light to bathe the bottom in the soft glow of an autumn morning. Even after a long summer, the water was still high up the tufted banks with deep pools plummeting to a dark mystery under the overhang of trees. At first glance I thought it was a rat that set a wake upon the still. But it was too big with a tail as thick as a hand, paddle feet and a head wearing a shiny bill. A platypus ! I mouthed in a silent yell, as its unmistakable shape made course across the water only to dive and drag its wake down into a bubble trail towards some hidden hole and out of sight. To glimpse it in the wild was like seeing an apparition of the sacred, something made and forged in the distant dreamtime of this ancient land - strange, almost alien, surfacing to draw breath in the now before sinking back into the timeless burrow of its own myth. Platypus - Background Information. The platypus is a shy, unique semi aquatic, egg laying mammal inhabiting streams and rivers in eastern Australia. It has many distinct features, the most striking being a duck-like bill, broad tail and webbed feet. An iconic Australian animal, it has deep significance to First Nation people and is an important part of their mythology and culture.