Australia Police and the Department of Environment and Science are making a joint appeal for the surrender of a platypus that was taken from the wild. Photo: Supplied / Queensland Police Service
By Elizabeth Cramsie for the ABC
Police are chasing two people seen holding a platypus while travelling on a train north of Brisbane earlier this week.
Authorities believe the pair removed the platypus from its natural habitat, an offence that can attract a fine of up to A$430,000 ($457,000).
Police said the pair were spotted boarding a Caboolture bound train at Morayfield Station on Tuesday morning with the mammal wrapped in a towel.
They have since been identified as a result of information from the public.
Authorities are urging the pair to take the monotreme to the nearest vet, police station or RSPCA shelter.
The Department of Environment and Science said the longer a platypus is out of the wild, the higher the chance it could become sick or die.
The department said in Queensland, platypuses live in rivers east of the Great Dividing Range, and are also found in some western-flowing streams.
It is a class one offence to take a platypus from the wild under Queensland law.
A venomous spur makes it risky to hold a platypus, authorities say. Photo: 123RF
'They were showing it off'
Police said they also held concerns for the safety of the two people, as platypuses have a venomous spur that can cause serious injury.
Anyone with information is urged to contact police link or crime stoppers.
Acting Superintendent Scott Knowles said the pair exited the train at Caboolture.
"According to the report that was provided to the Environment and Science Department, they were showing it off to people on the train, allowing people to pat it," he said.
"The concerns around that would be some of the diseases that people may carry that might impact on the animal and vice versa.
"We do have the identity of those people, but we still don't know their whereabouts or the location of the platypus.
"These animals do present a danger to members of the community."
Superintendent Knowles said police were trying to work out what motivated the two people to take the platypus.
"Some of the information we've received from a member of the community that actually spoke to the pair, they indicated that they'd located it actually on a roadway and took it with the intent of taking it to a place and releasing it."
Platypuses are 'high maintenance'
Parks and Wildlife Ranger Claudette Merrick said the platypus is a unique species.
"You'll probably find across Australia a lot of wildlife parks actually don't have platypuses in captivity because they are high maintenance and they require a lot of care," she said.
"A lot of their food source is crustaceans, worms and they need to be submerged underwater and they will forage for about 12 to 13 hours.
"If their body temperature does get over 30 degrees this can be quite fatal to the platypus."
- ABC