Tag Archives: platypus

Pippa and Puggles by Edwina Smith

Leave a comment

Most unusual is Pippa
A ‘mix and match’ of features
One may think perhaps
Belong to other creatures

Her home’s a flowing stream
With banks on either side
In which she has a burrow
A safe, dry place to hide

Her face is like a duck
Yet no quack is heard
Fur instead of feathers?
She is not a bird!

But Pippa lays eggs
And feeds young with milk
A swift and streamlined swimmer
With style smooth as silk

Shy and rarely seen by day
She waits until twilight
Diving into cold and dark
To feed throughout the night

How does she find some food?
Receptors in her bill
Help her catch shrimp and worms
She can have her fill!

Pippa has become a Mum
She’s raised a little one
Playing in the burrow
His time has just begun

Growing strong, it won’t be long
Till Puggles takes his turn
Joining in with nature
A role he needs to learn

Quiet and reclusive
Pippa makes no fuss
But she’s so important
To each and all of us

Protect and save our waters
Rivers, ponds and streams
We must see, she’ll always be
Not just in our dreams!

Puggles is four months old
Almost fully grown
‘Tis time for him to venture out
And make it on his own

Pippa’s care has served him well
But now her job is done
He’s ready to explore their stream
With setting of the sun

Photo by Aaron De Wit on Unsplash

A Very Funny Animal by Norah Colvin

23 Comments

It isn’t quite a beaver, though it has a beaver’s tail,

A freshwater-living mammal, much smaller than a whale.

It’s something like an otter with body dressed in fur.

Its bill and feet are duck-like but it has a poisonous spur.

It burrows into riverbanks to lay its eggs therein.

It swims around in waters while having not one fin.

If you come across it, I urge you not to scream.

It wouldn’t ever harm you. It’s just a monotreme.

Its name can be quite tricky, but you’ll learn it without fuss.

So try:

               Or –

                      Or – nith – or

                             Ornithorhynchus,

You might call it the platypus.

Poem of the Day

Leave a comment

The Platypus at Abbotsford

A young platypus was recently sighted in Melbourne’s Yarra River, where it winds through the inner city suburb of Abbotsford.

 

The platypus at Abbotsford is new upon this earth.

It isn’t very long ago its mother gave it birth.

It views the world with wonder, and it moves with merry mirth,

And doesn’t see the dangers in the shadows.

 

The platypus at Abbotsford is learning how to dive,

And all the other little tricks it needs to stay alive.

Let’s hope it does much more than live, and learns to really thrive,

But perils lie in wait in all directions.

 

The platypus at Abbotsford is thrilled to find such space.

It can’t believe that others have not occupied this place.

It doesn’t know they did, but failed to prosecute their case.

Their bones lie buried in the river’s bottom…

 

The platypus at Abbotsford gives hope, gives joy, gives heart

That each and every one of us will play our vital part

In making sure that platypus gets off to a great start

To face an even more successful future!

Stephen Whiteside