The species was once found in the Adelaide Hills and Mount Lofty Ranges of South Australia. The western limits of the range are poorly known. It is present in eastern Queensland and New South Wales, eastern, central and southwestern Victoria and throughout Tasmania. Platypus is endemic to Australia and is dependent on rivers, streams and bodies of freshwater. The presence of logs, twigs, and roots, as well as cobbled or gravel water substrate result in increased microinvertebrate fauna (a main food source), and the Platypus also tends to be more abundant in areas with pool-riffle sequences. Hence, the ideal habitat for the species includes a river or a stream with earth banks and native vegetation that provides shading of the stream and cover near the bank. At times, the individuals use rocky crevices and stream debris as shelters, or they burrow under the roots of vegetation near the stream. When not foraging, the Platypus spends most of the time in its burrow in the bank of the river, creek or a pond. They feed in both slow-moving and rapid (riffle) parts of streams, but show preference to coarser bottom substrates, particularly cobbles and gravel. Platypuses occur in freshwater systems from tropical rainforest lowlands and plateaus of far northern Queensland to cold, high altitudes of Tasmania and the Australian Alps. In addition, males possess a horny spur on their ankles, which is connected to a venom gland in the upper leg, making the Platypus one of the few venomous mammals. The Platypus uses its tail for storage of fat reserves and the strong claws on its feet for burrowing and moving on land. Behind its distinctive bill are the grooves that house the ear openings and the eyes which close when the animal dives. The Platypus propels itself through the water by using its front, short, webbed limbs, and the partially-webbed hind feet act as rudders. Its streamline body and a broad, flat tail are covered with dense waterproof fur, which provides excellent thermal insulation. Platypus is well adapted for semi-aquatic lifestyle. When first discovered, the unusual look of a Platypus caused considerable confusion and doubt amongst European naturalists and scientists, many of whom believed that the animal was a fake. Along with echidnas, Platypuses are grouped in a separate order of mammals known as monotremes, which are distinguished from all other mammals because they lay eggs. These intrepid photographers will always do a better job than I could and looking at their pictures will always bring me more pleasure than looking at my own poor substitutes.The Platypus is a unique Australian species. I leave it to those who have nothing better to do with their time than sit and wait, sometimes for weeks, for the animal to perform in front of their lens. Admittedly I had to get up at 5.30 in the morning to catch the platypus but as someone said they are rarer than whales and I managed to get a picture. At the Jelong caves in the Blue mountains I saw rock wallabies and surprisingly a duck billed platypus. It was too dark to take pictures, next morning I saw emu at a distance, I didn’t have a lens long enough and I saw an echidna but by the time I was ready he was heading off into the bush. They came leaping out of the sea at about 8.30 at night to roost in their burrows in the sand dunes. I was in Australia throughout December and early January and was thrilled to see Fairy penguins at Bicheno in Tasmania. Sadly the results rarely get close to those of wildlife photographers. Even so I do enjoy pictures of wildlife and when I do have a camera in hand and some fauna does it stuff in front of me I am as likely as the next to start taking pictures. Does this mark me out as a photographer who is not prepared to go that extra bit to get better pictures, well no because I do in my professional work or when I travel, I will happily sit and wait for the sun to get lower to achieve the shot I want. The reason is three fold, I do not have the patience to wait for animals to do their thing, I do not have suitable equipment as buying a 400mm f2.8 would be an excessive expense, I don’t like being cold or wet. I know I will never manage to get the fantastic shots we can see on Wild Life Photographer of the year, in fact I am unlikely to get the sort of shots your local wildlife photography group will get. I have a relationship with wildlife photography that is difficult to resolve.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |