The strange platypus reading for kids | kids reading | reading kids

The platypus is a very strange animal because it looks like an exotic mix of different species. It lives in Australia and on the island of Tasmania.

Its case is unique in nature since it is an oviparous mammal! This so rare means that on the one hand it is a mammal that feeds its young with milk, but on the other it behaves as an oviparous, that is, it reproduces by eggs like fish or birds.

This is not the only rarity that characterizes this friendly animal because, when it comes to breastfeeding, it also does so in a very special way: the mother does not expel milk through the breasts like other mammals, but through the pores of skin like sweat. That is why the pups, instead of sucking milk from a teat like dogs or sheep do, lick their mother’s body to feed.

As for its appearance, it is one of the strangest things you can find: it has the body of an otter, a large and furry tail of a beaver, and a large and flat beak that is very reminiscent of that of a duck (although it is not hard, but soft and meaty). ).

The platypus hunts underwater and its favorite food is crabs, shrimp and insect larvae. In its beak it has receptors capable of detecting the electrical signals that these animals emit when they move, so it is able to quickly locate them and, also with its beak, catch them. Afterwards, it rises to the surface and eats them calmly.

The feet also resemble those of ducks because they are webbed, that is, their fingers are joined by a membrane. This allows him to swim with great agility. In the case of males, if an enemy approaches, there is no problem, because the two rear ones have poisonous stingers whose sting is fatal for small animals.

What is possibly the strangest animal you have ever been told about?