Among the strange and interesting productions of Australia, no one is
more wonderful than the ornithorynchus, platypus, or water-mole. It is
aquatic in its habits, frequenting quiet streams, where it excavates
burrows to a great depth. It is about eighteen inches long, and is
covered with fur. It is web-footed, at the same time that its feet are
well fitted for burrowing in the earth. Its head terminates in a broad
bill, like that of a duck.
Mr. G. Bennett procured several specimens of this curious creature, but
did not succeed in taking them to England. One of them was caught at
the mouth of its burrow, and taken by Mr. B. to Lansdowne Park. "Here,"
says he, "I availed myself of the vicinity of some ponds, to give my
platypus a little recreation. On opening the box where I kept it, it
was lying in a corner, contracted into a very small compass, and fast
asleep. I tied a very long cord to its hind leg, and roused it; in
return for which, I received numerous growls. When placed on the bank,
it soon found its way into the water, and travelled up the stream,
apparently delighting in those places which most abounded in aquatic
weeds. Although it would dive in deep water, yet it always preferred
keeping close to the bank, occasionally thrusting its beak into the
mud, and at the roots of the various weeds on the margin of the pond,
as if in search of insects.
"After it had wandered some time, it crawled up the bank, and enjoyed
the luxury of scratching itself, and rolling about. In the process of
cleaning itself, the hind claws were alone brought into use for the
operation--first the claws of one hind leg, then the claws of the
other. The animal remained for more than an hour cleaning itself, after
which, it had a more sleek and glossy appearance than before. It never
became familiar, and always manifested the greatest reluctance to be
placed in the box. One night it escaped, and I was never able to find
it again."