The first platypus specimen arrived in England in 1799 in the form of a skin of a dead platypus, so biologists could study it.
 At first, the scientists thought the skin was a joke, because they thought no animal could look so strange.
 They thought an Asian had made it from pieces of different animals.

National Geographic magazine had a story on the platypus in 1939.
 Many people had never heard of the platypus.
 The story told how hard it was to raise the babies in zoos.
Even today, humans have raised only few.
David Fleay at the Healesville Sanctuary in Victoria had the first successful zoo-raised platypus in 1946.
He nearly did it again in 1972 at the David Fleay Wildlife Park at Burleigh Heads, Queensland, but it died at 50 days.
Healesville raised another in 1998 and again in 2000.
Taronga Zoo in Sydney bred twins in 2003, and had another birth in 2006.

The platypus will probably not die out completely in the near future.
Ecologists say that it is “secure but faces future threat” (safe now but not in the future) or common but vulnerable (there are a lot now but they are not safe).
 They say this because people can make the water unsafe for the platypus.
The first platypus specimen arrived in England in 1799 in the form of a skin of a dead platypus, so biologists could study it.  At first, the scientists thought the skin was a joke, because they thought no animal could look so strange.  They thought an Asian had made it from pieces of different animals.
National Geographic magazine had a story on the platypus in 1939.  Many people had never heard of the platypus.  The story told how hard it was to raise the babies in zoos. Even today, humans have raised only few. David Fleay at the Healesville Sanctuary in Victoria had the first successful zoo-raised platypus in 1946. He nearly did it again in 1972 at the David Fleay Wildlife Park at Burleigh Heads, Queensland, but it died at 50 days. Healesville raised another in 1998 and again in 2000. Taronga Zoo in Sydney bred twins in 2003, and had another birth in 2006.
The platypus will probably not die out completely in the near future. Ecologists say that it is “secure but faces future threat” (safe now but not in the future) or common but vulnerable (there are a lot now but they are not safe).  They say this because people can make the water unsafe for the platypus.
Platypus