STORY: Australian expert warns of looming extinction risk facing platypus
SHOOTING TIME: May 17, 2024
DATELINE: May 21, 2024
LENGTH: 00:02:45
LOCATION: SYDNEY, Australia
CATEGORY: SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the platypus in Australia (credit: Platypus Conservation Initiative, UNSW - Sydney)
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): GILAD BINO, Researcher of Centre for Ecosystem Science, UNSW and member of Platypus Conservation Initiative, UNSW
3. various of the platypus in Australia (credit: Platypus Conservation Initiative, UNSW - Sydney)
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): GILAD BINO, Researcher of Centre for Ecosystem Science, UNSW and member of Platypus Conservation Initiative, UNSW

STORYLINE:

An Australian researcher has warned of looming extinction risk facing platypus, one of the most exotic mammals in Earth's evolutionary history.

Gilad Bino, a researcher of the Center for Ecosystem Science, the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Australia, is also a member of the Platypus Conservation Initiative. He has studied the platypus for 10 years.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): GILAD BINO, Researcher of Center for Ecosystem Science, UNSW and member of Platypus Conservation Initiative, UNSW
"The platypus is such an extraordinary animal. It's a highly iconic animal. And because of that ancient split, the platypus encompasses all of these highly unique characteristics. One of them is being an egg-laying mammal. It has a very sensitive duck-like-bill. It has webbing to swim in the water. It has, like, weird features. It has five sex chromosomes, and so it has venomous spurs as well. So, like all of these, like, quite unique characteristics represent the platypus."

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): GILAD BINO, Researcher of Center for Ecosystem Science, UNSW and member of Platypus Conservation Initiative, UNSW
"Over the past 200 years, we've seen massive changes in the natural environment in Australia through land clearing and introduction of invasive species. Unfortunately, the platypus and other freshwater species have been impacted by human-related activities like building of dams, erosion of rivers, roads, pollution. Even platypuses were hunted for their fur until about 100 years ago. So all of these impacts have caused the decline in the distribution and abundance of platypuses. We've seen in many areas, platypuses disappear. We've seen local extinctions of platypuses."

The Platypus Conservation Initiative was established in 2016 as part of the Center for Ecosystem Science. Its purpose is to use scientific research, improved management, and increased awareness to reduce the risk of extinction for platypuses.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Sydney, Australia.
(XHTV)