Platypus ‘abducted from the wild and boarded onto Brisbane train’

11941827 Have you seen this Platypus? Missing marsupial sparks manhunt after two commuters were captured on CCTV carrying the unique Aussie animal on a train wrapped in a blanket
Police want to find these two men
QLD Police
Tom Davidson6 April 2023

Two people are being hunted by police on suspicion of kidnapping a wild platypus and boarding it on a Brisbane train.

Officials have warned that the animal urgently needs to be returned to its natural environment.

The two suspects were spotted boarding the train at Morayfield on Tuesday with a platypus wrapped in a towel, Queensland police said.

The pair were patting the animal and showing it to fellow commuters, and investigators believe they were on their way to Caboolture, roughly 20 minutes away.

Queensland police have issued a joint appeal with the Department of Environment and Science calling for the animal to be returned to a police station or vet immediately.

11941827 Have you seen this Platypus? Missing marsupial sparks manhunt after two commuters were captured on CCTV carrying the unique Aussie animal on a train wrapped in a blanket
The two suspects
QLD Police

The platypus is at risk of becoming sick, diseased or dying the longer it is out of its habitat, police say.

It should not be fed or introduced to any new environments.

Platypuses also have venomous spurs that can injure pets and people.

Taking a platypus from the wild is an offence under Queensland’s Nature Conservation Act and a maximum penalty of more than AU$430,000 applies.

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