Duck-billed Platypus
Duck-billed PlatypusDuck-billed PlatypusDuck-billed PlatypusDuck-billed Platypus

Duck-billed Platypus

Ornithorhynchus anatinus

Least ConcernNear ThreatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically Endangered Endemic
10–20% · With luck
overall probability at Great Otway National Park
47 Verified records at Great Otway National Park
June Best month highest sighting rate
☀️ Diurnal When it's active during daytime hours (6am–6pm)

The platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus), sometimes referred to as the duck-billed platypus, is a semiaquatic, egg-laying mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania. The platypus is the sole living representative of its family Ornithorhynchidae and genus Ornithorhynchus, though a number of related species appear in the fossil record. Together with the four species of echidna, it is one of the five extant species of monotremes, mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young. Like other monotremes, the platypus has a sense of electrolocation, which it uses to detect prey in water while its eyes, ears and nostrils are closed. It is one of the few species of venomous mammals, as the male platypus has a spur on each hind foot that delivers an extremely painful venom. The unusual appearance of this egg-laying, duck-billed, beaver-tailed mammal at first baffled European naturalists. Wikipedia →

10–20% of wildlife watchers report a Duck-billed Platypus sighting in Great Otway National Park, based on 47 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.

Closest Relatives at Great Otway National Park

Short-beaked Echidna
LC

Short-beaked Echidna

☀️ Diurnal Mammal

Tachyglossus aculeatus

30–40% · Possible

📅 Monthly Probability

10–20
Jan
10–20
Feb
<5
Mar
5–10
Apr
10–20
May
30–40
Jun
20–30
Jul
10–20
Aug
10–20
Sep
10–20
Oct
10–20
Nov
10–20
Dec

☀️ When They're Spotted

Most active during daytime hours (6am–6pm) · across all parks (global)

☀️Diurnal
☀️🌙🌙12am6am12pm6pm12am

Global Distribution

Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.

where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is)  ·  parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Probability
1 Kosciuszko National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
30–40%
2 Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
30–40%
3 Great Otway National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
10–20%
4 Blue Mountains National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
10–20%
5 Springbrook National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
5–10%
6 Lamington National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
Insufficient data
7 Daintree National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
Insufficient data
8 Grampians National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
Insufficient data
9 Royal National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
Insufficient data

Quick answers

What are the chances of seeing a Duck-billed Platypus in Great Otway National Park?

About 16% of wildlife watchers report a Duck-billed Platypus sighting in Great Otway National Park, based on 47 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.

When is the best time to see Duck-billed Platypus in Great Otway National Park?

June has the highest sighting rate for Duck-billed Platypus in Great Otway National Park in our monthly data.

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