Researchers ‘over the moon’ as miracle platypus puggle is born in Sydney’s Royal National Park

A baby platypus is the first of its species to be born in Sydney’s Royal National Park in more than five decades.

The six-month-old female puggle named Gilli weighed 850 grams and was found in the Hacking River which runs through the park over the weekend.

Researchers from the University of New South Wales, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, Taronga Conservation Society Australia and the World Wildlife Fund set nets for three nights to study platypuses in waterways across the park.

The survey assessed the health of 10 platypuses – four males and six females – who were reintroduced to the park last May after being missing from the area for more than 50 years.

The baby platypus is believed to be the child of two of the ten platypus that were repatriated.

She was given the name “Gilli”, which means “flame” or “life was ignited” in the Dharawal language, by Yuin, Walbunja, Dhoorga Gurandgi, cultural man, uncle Dean Kelly.

The project’s lead researcher, Dr Gilad Bino from the UNSW Center for Ecosystem Science, said the team was delighted after finding the puggle in one of the nets.

“We were over the moon,” said Dr. Bino ABC News. “It was just incredible…so rewarding and very humbling to be a part of this mammoth effort.”

The team checked Gilli’s body condition, took several samples and microchipped her for later identification before returning her to the water.

Dr Bino said it was a “miracle” that the team found Gilli, as searching for the 10 platypuses in the national park’s water system was like finding a needle in a haystack.

New South Wales Minister for Climate Change and Environment Penny Sharpe called Gilli a “wonderful discovery” and a testament to the success of the transfer project.

“Not only are they surviving, but the discovery of a juvenile platypus shows they are thriving,” Ms Sharpe said. UNSW.

“This means the Royal National Park is in great shape. Invasive species are being fought and water quality is good.

“It gives me a lot of hope that our collaborations will work; that we can protect what remains and restore what has been damaged.

Ms Sharpe said she believed the project could be replicated in other areas, with further reintroductions planned over the coming years.

The return of platypuses to the Royal National Park was the first translocation program for the species in New South Wales.

It aimed to re-establish a genetically diverse and self-sustaining platypus population within the park.

The research team does not rule out the possibility of finding more juveniles in the area.

The conservation status of the platypuses has been officially classified as “near threatened” by the Australian Platypus Conservancy.

Estimates of Australia’s current platypus population vary widely, from 30,000 to some 300,000 individuals.