We are indebted to Dr. George Bennett for the first good description
of the duck mole (_Ornithorhynchus anatinus_) which was an object of
wonder to naturalists long after its discovery. This enthusiastic
investigator traveled to Australia for the sole purpose of observing
the animal. Up to that time little was known of it. We simply knew
that the duck mole lives in the water and was persistently hunted by
the natives, as it yielded a savory flesh and laid eggs. The latter
discovery was made by Caldwell in 1884.
The duck mole is about two feet in length, six inches of which are
included in the tail. The males are larger than the females. The legs
are very small, all four feet being five-toed and webbed. All the
toes are very strong, blunt, and excellently adapted for digging. The
middle toes are the longest. The tail is flat and is broad at the end,
the extremity being formed by long hairs. It is abruptly cut off, and
in old animals is either entirely naked beneath or covered with a few
coarse hairs. In young animals it is quite hairy. The adult animal has
only four horny teeth in its two jaws, of which the upper front tooth
is broad and flat and resembles a grinder.
The fur of the duck mole consists of a coarse outer coat of a dark
brown color with a silvery-white surface tinge, and a very soft,
grayish inner fur, similar to that of the seal and the otter. A
peculiar fish-like odor is given forth by the fur, especially when
it is wet. The Australians, however, are very fond of the flesh of
the animal in spite of its disgusting odor. The duck mole is said to
be fondest of calm spots in rivers filled with aquatic plants and
the banks of which are shaded by the dense foliage of trees; and it
constructs more or less complicated burrows in the banks. A tunnel
about eighteen feet long terminates in a large chamber, both the
chamber and its approaches being strewn with dry aquatic plants. The
chamber usually has two entrances, one below the surface of the water,
and the other about twelve inches above.
The duck moles are seen at all times in the rivers of Australia,
especially during the spring and summer. They emerge from their
retreats at dusk, though they sometimes also appear in the day time,
searching for food. When the water is clear, the observer can follow
with the eye the movements of the animal as it dives and reappears
above the surface. It likes to stay near the shore, amidst the mud,
searching for its food between the roots of the plants, where insects
abound. The mollusks which it captures in its forays it stores
temporarily in its cheek-pouches and then consumes them at greater
leisure.
[Illustration: From col. Chi. Acad. Sciences.
DUCK-BILLED PLATIPUS.
3/7 Life-size.
COPYRIGHT 1899,
NATURE STUDY PUB. CO., CHICAGO.]
"On a beautiful summer evening," says Bennett, "I approached a small
river in Australia, and as I knew the predilection of the duck mole
for the hour of dusk, I tried to obtain a glimpse of one. With a
constant grasp on our guns, we patiently stood on the shore. It was
not long before we saw a black object appear near us on the top of the
water, the head being raised but little above the surface. We stood
motionless, lest we should scare the animal, carefully observing and
following its movements, for one must be ready to shoot just as the
duck mole reappears after diving. Only a shot in the head is effective,
as the loose, thick fur will not allow a bullet to penetrate it
readily. We wounded one which gave evidence of severe injury and sank
immediately, but soon rose again. When the dog brought it to us we
found it to be a fine male. Several minutes after it had been brought
out of the water it apparently revived, and, instantly rising to its
feet, staggered toward the river. About twenty-five minutes later it
turned over several times and then died. As I had heard much about the
danger of being pierced by its spur even when the animal is mortally
injured, I put my hand near the so-called poisonous spur at the first
grasp. In its violent exertions to escape the animal scratched me
slightly with its hind paws and also with its spur, but despite the
roughness with which I seized it, it did not wound me intentionally.
I had also been further told that the duck mole lay on its back when
it wished to use the spur, which statement will not be received as
at all probable by anyone who knows the animal in ever so slight a
way. I put it in this position, but it only strove to regain its feet
without attempting to wound me by using its spur. In short, I tried in
every way to induce the animal to make use of its spur as a weapon,
but in vain; and I am perfectly convinced that the spur has another
function than that of a weapon. The natives characterize the spur as
'mischievous,' that being with them a word which in general conveys
the idea of dangerous or poisonous character; yet they use the same
expression in speaking of the scratches inflicted by the animal with
the hinder feet, and they are not at all afraid of seizing a living
duck mole. When the queer creature runs along the ground, it produces
an impression of something unnatural, and its strange shape easily
startles a timid person. Cats instantly take flight at its appearance,
and even dogs, which are not specially trained, stare at it, prick
their ears, and bark, but are afraid to touch it."
On another voyage Bennett discovered a burrow containing three young
ones, upon which the hair had already grown, and which he could observe
for some time. When he found the nest with the young ones and placed
them on the ground, they ran to and fro, but did not make such savage
attempts to escape as did the old ones. The natives, whose mouths
watered at the sight of these fat young animals, said that they were
about eight months old, and added that the young duck moles were fed
milk by their mother only during their early infancy and later were
given insects, small shells, and mud.
At evening Bennett's two little pets emerged from their cage at dusk
and usually ate their food; then they began to play like a couple
of young dogs, attacking each other with their beaks, lifting their
fore paws and climbing over each other. They were very lively. Their
little eyes gleamed and the apertures of the ears opened and closed in
remarkably rapid succession. As their eyes stand quite high on their
heads they cannot see very well straight ahead, and therefore are apt
to come into collision with near-by objects. The young animals survived
only five weeks.
The duck mole lays several soft-shelled eggs. The eggs are hatched
in the nest. The newly-hatched young are small, naked, blind and as
helpless as those of the pouched animals. Their beaks are short.
In the zoölogical garden at Melbourne duck moles have occasionally been
kept of late years, but none have, thus far, reached Europe or America
alive.
Brehm says that the duck mole is the last among the known mammals.