06/06/2026
The Hobart Rivulet is flooding! Will the platypus be ok?
The short answer: Yes, it’s "business as usual" for them... mostly!
Platypus take advantage of high water levels to forage freshly flooded verges, often utilizing currents to maximize their foraging efficiency.
Where the torrent becomes impassable, platypus simply leave the water and walk along the banks to bypass the heaviest rapids and access calmer, often temporary backwaters.
However, while evolutionary adaptations prepare platypus for floods, urban infrastructure like concrete walls, culverts, and fencing can block their natural detours. This increases the risk of displacement, injury, or drowning—especially for younger or weaker animals.
Unlike platypus, land-dwelling wildlife such as possums and pademelons face a high risk of drowning when trying to cross flooding waterways.
Ultimately, storms provide an important natural reset for our waterways, making this just another day in the life of the extraordinary platypus.
