21st Milestone for Platypus at Healesville Sanctuary
Meet Millsom, a male Platypus who, despite a rough start, has lived a long life thanks to the dedicated team at Healesville Sanctuary.
Millsom came into care 21 years ago as an orphaned nestling discovered on the bank of a dam that was being created near the Goulburn River at Thorpdale in Victoria.
Sadly, his nesting burrow was accidently destroyed which meant his mother had nowhere to raise him until he was weaned, which is a critical part of successful reproduction. So Millsom was transported to Healesville Sanctuary’s wildlife hospital for specialised care.
It’s estimated the little Platypus was only four to six weeks old at the time as he had not yet opened his eyes.
The Sanctuary’s veterinary team and zookeepers were tasked with feeding the youngster Platypus milk. However, female platypus don’t have teats so milk is slurped up via skin glands on the body. At the time, it was difficult to match the puggle’s nutritional needs with a generic animal milk formula.
Healesville Sanctuary Platypus Specialist, Dr Jessica Thomas, said Millsom defied the odds.
Feeding required delicately dripping the formula from a syringe into a warm cupped hand so the Platypus could suckle up milk.
“He had multiple health problems during his first two years of life because he didn’t have the exact milk. This made him more susceptible to different infections such as bacteria in yeast– but now he has developed into a very healthy Platypus,” Dr Thomas said.
“I’ve been overseeing Millsom’s care for 15 years. He was the first Platypus that I ever met, and I thought he was the best thing I had ever seen.
“He had so much personality. I remember when we were doing a weight check, he grabbed a towel and started playing with it like it was toy. I’d never thought of the Platypus as such a playful animal and the more I got to know Millsom, the more I learnt about Platypus as a species.”
Some of the veterinary team who initially cared for Millsom 21 years ago continue to work at the Sanctuary’s wildlife hospital today and continue to monitor Millsom’s health.
Despite his age, Millsom still loves to swim into fast currents, rub his back on logs and now chooses to participate in training for health checks.
In 2022, the Victorian Government dedicated $5 million to the transform the existing Platypus centre at Healesville Sanctuary and create the Australian Platypus Conservation Centre.
This new centre will be used by world-leading Platypus researchers to conduct biological and behavioural research, helping Australia-wide conservation efforts. It will also enhance the Sanctuary’s capacity to treat and care for wild Platypus affected by extreme weather emergencies.