68 MARVELS OF THE ANIMAL WORLD 



The Australian aborigines, who are very partial 

 to the flesh of a young platypus, call it by the name 

 of Mullingong or Tambreet, while the colonists 

 speak of it as the water-mole. The natives capture 

 the creatures as they repose in their burrows, first 

 of all making sure that they are at home by care- 

 fully examining the footprints around the domicUe. 

 If these appear to be newly formed, the hunters 

 then drive sticks into the ground at intervals of a 

 few feet apart, thereby tracing the direction of 

 the underground passage to the terminating chamber 

 wherein lie the victims. 



Although the platypus has been kept aUve in 

 captivity in its native country, no living example 

 has ever been seen in Europe. Mr. Bennett gives 

 an interesting account of a pair of young ones he 

 caught and kept for a period of five weeks. He 

 describes them as being ' as frolicsome as puppies, 

 and apparently as fond of play ; and many of their 

 actions were not a little ludicrous. They climbed 

 up with great readiness to the summit of a book- 

 case, and this by means of the strong cutaneous 

 muscles of their claws, mounting with much 

 expedition to the top. Their food consisted of 

 bread soaked in water, chopped eggs, and meat 

 minced very small, and they did not seem to prefer 

 milk to water.' 



The female platypus lays two eggs at a time 

 which are yellowish in colour and enclosed in a 

 flexible shell about three-quarters of an inch in 

 length. 



The eggs resemble those of a bird, inasmuch as 



