Category
🐳
AnimalsTranscript
00:00 The peculiar platypus homes in on the electrical signals of its prey.
00:04 The estuaries are fed by a network of streams.
00:14 As the water shifts from salty to fresh, new habitats support distinct interactions between
00:23 hunters and the hunted. Moving upstream, one finds a true wetland oddity, shy and elusive,
00:33 the platypus.
00:36 The platypus builds his burrow just above the waterline.
00:48 When the coast is clear, he escapes his den for a day of foraging.
00:53 Underwater obstacles are no challenge for this dexterous diver.
00:59 Even though he's well suited to aquatic environments,
01:06 he's a mammal and needs to come up for air every 30 seconds or so.
01:10 Underwater, he closes his eyes and seals his nose.
01:18 Yet is still a highly effective hunter. His bill is covered with about 40,000
01:25 electroreceptors that detect the faint electrical signals emitted by prey.
01:30 He combs the riverbed with his bill, searching for any pulse.
01:45 The first meal for the day, a tasty worm.
01:48 Nourishing, but far from enough. He needs to eat about 20% of his own weight every day.
01:57 He'll store extra fat in his tail, up to half his entire body's weight,
02:05 providing power for extra bursts of energy.
02:14 Faint electrical pulses belie the presence of a crayfish.
02:18 The crayfish tries to escape, but the platypus follows his electrical signal.
02:28 One crayfish down, but it isn't enough.
02:40 A platypus spends around 12 hours a day searching for food.
02:44 But this feast is about to be rudely interrupted.
02:49 It's mating season and another male has swum into his territory.
02:57 He'll need to vanquish the potential rival.
03:04 When it comes to combat, the males are well equipped for a knife fight.
03:10 They both carry concealed weapons, a venomous spur behind each hind foot.
03:18 The tussle ends quickly.
03:24 The challenger escapes the fight, swimming downstream in search of another mating ground.
03:33 The victor can resume gorging on crayfish.
03:36 By sunset, the platypus has had his fill.
03:47 A day of foraging and fending off a rival has earned him a well-deserved rest.
03:55 [MUSIC PLAYING]
03:58 [MUSIC PLAYING]
04:02 [MUSIC PLAYING]
04:06 (upbeat music)