Yuin Elder Uncle Dean Kelly has named the juvenile platypus found in the Royal National Park ‘Gilli’, a Dharawal word meaning ‘Flame’.
“It signifies the flame or life that’s been ignited in the park,” said lead researcher Dr Gilad Bino, of UNSW’s Centre for Ecosystem Science. “It is humbling and an honour for us to have the traditional owners of the Country to be part of this and welcoming these platypuses back.”
The first-ever translocation of platypus in NSW took place in 2023, with 10 animals from the Snowy Monaro and Kangaroo Valley regions re-introduced to the Royal National Park, where they had been locally extinct for 50 years.
Fresh out of her burrow and weighing 850g, Gilli is now a six-month-old juvenile (no longer a puggle, a term reserved for a platypus in the nest).
“Her health is amazing, so she’s perfect,” Gilad said. “Every birth is a miracle, right? But we were elated. We were over the moon, very speechless.”
Researchers have kept a sharp ear out for the platypuses since they were released in May 2023.
“We use these acoustic little tags. They’re about Panadol-sized trackers that we implanted in the platypus and they emit a sound pulse in the water.
“We’ve got an array of listening stations and so as these little platypuses, kind of like submarines, they ping and we detect where they are. That gives us a really amazing amount of information.”
Last spring a sudden quietness told them three females might be breeding. “They disappear into the nest for about two weeks; you don’t see anything and then they start coming back at increasing frequency.”
Each female can lay one to two eggs, Gilad said. “So if they've been extremely successful then up to like six [juveniles].
"I wouldn’t exclude the possibility that there’s more than one.”
Locals have been worried about the health of the platypuses after coal wash spills from Peabody’s Metropolitan Mine into Camp Gully Creek in 2022 and 2023. The Environmental Protection Authority, which monitors the mine, issued fines, made changes to its licence and took legal action.
Gilad said researchers do regular habitat checks.
“Our surveys extend on the Hacking River all the way up to the confluence with Camp Gully. Everything seems to indicate that platypus have plenty of food and the water-quality conditions are favourable to platypus,” he said.
Gilli would have drunk her mother’s milk for the first four months, but is now off on her own, foraging for macro invertebrates. “So large spineless water bugs, like the larval and nymph stages of different flies and dragonfly nymphs, caddisflies, shrimps, worms, things like that.”
Gilad, Dr Tahneal Hawke and Prof Richard Kingsford are the core team in the Platypus Conservation Partnership, supported by WWF, Taronga Conservation Society and National Parks and Wildlife. Local volunteers have also helped.
“Friends of the Royal have been terrific,” Gilad said. “They’ve also deployed a few cameras in some areas that we were curious about. It's great to see an amazing group of fellow enthusiasts.”
The best time to spot the shy monotremes is dawn or dusk as they are active at night. “You have to be patient,” Gilad said. “And stay on the paths.
“We’re still a bit hesitant to say exactly where they are. The main concern is excited people go trampling on the banks and there’s a real risk of collapsing burrows and disturbing and destroying the habitat for them.”
One release last year took place near Wattle Forest picnic area and Lady Carrington Drive has good vantage points over the Hacking, Gilad said.
“There’s a pool when you’re walking in that area, I think it’s just before Jersey Springs … there’s a good spot where you’re up high and looking down.”
Most platypuses were released into the Hacking River but two were in Kangaroo Creek, so kayakers should watch for ripples in the water too, he added.
“If you’re lucky, you might be able to see them.”
Researchers are collaborating with the Australian Conservation Foundation to build a database called the Platy Project to help scientists understand more about these elusive animals. Record your sightings and observations at platy-project.acf.org.a
