It's starting to cool down a bit in Tasmania so spending time in the water is getting to be a rarity. The other day was particularly "chilly" so I grabbed the camera and indulged one of my other past times "bushwalking and photography". I followed a creek and noticed something splashing around in one of the larger pools, to my delight it was a Platypus. The little creature was not threatened by my presence and came within about a metre of where I was standing on a log. Not the best shots I know, but the light and glare off the water made it difficult, but definitely a first for me.

Anyone else got any "wildlife" shots?

Thats is rare .thanks for sharing the footage.only place that l have seen one was at a zoo.seeing one in the wild is amazing.

Nah here is one I snapped just now:






:) In all seriousness good find. For me it was echidnas. Never saw one for so many years living in country areas, now seen a few its weird. First one I saw unfortunately was running it over..... like a brick...

If anyone can find a longtooth freshwater swordfish in the wild & get a photo heres a eg below.l would love to see it.

sawfish

I see the occassional echidna and bustard here in the WA Goldfields, but recently in a spot where I THINK ive seen a Mallee fowl . I was riding my touring bicycle and a pair of them stood on the roadside and watched me ride past. awesome moment

Im on the mines and we have insect photos, we go round the world putting in equipment.
Its all in remote places so there are always some hectic looking moths and spiders crickets rats etc etc.It started out as a bit of a joke but now its a pretty serious one upman ship between around 50 lads posted around the world.
This is my cricket quite proud he has a helmet and spikey legs and looks like a tiger.This is the current winner of cricket/grasshopper catagory.
My mate has one of a moth the size of his head.
There is a spider the size of another fellas 20 litre bucket lid
And a scorpion Which glowed in the dark in mongolia it was a bit scary that one.

We also found a frog in the middle of a rock about 300 metres underground. No one believed us but i was there we got a pic and yes it was alive.

Have not got a platypus so hats off too you sir

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gavnwend said..
If anyone can find a longtooth freshwater swordfish in the wild & get a photo heres a eg below.l would love to see it.

Old sam the Fisher man has caught two of these off our kite spot in the last 3 years
The second one was just a couple months ago and I actually brought it to shore as the old bloke was spent.
Successfully released both times.
I have photos
I'll see if i can find em

Here's a few from round the traps. I have definitely seen some epic stuff in the wild, but having a camera on hand is another story. Currently don't have a working camera, and its moments like these that i'm desperately trying to source another.

There are many Platypus hanging around in Tas all over the state ,small creeks ,rivulets.
A five minute drive out of Hobart will find you a Platypus , along with a Bloody Cat, feral or not, Keep em locked inside!!!!
Nice find ,and photos,

Some awesome pics here

what the hell is the thing with all the eyes?

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Mark _australia said..
Some awesome pics here

what the hell is the thing with all the eyes?

I think it's a relative of that bloke from Mythbusters or possibly a "Huntsman", this one is a 'Badged Huntsman' found in the woodpile after I carried it inside.



Inchman ant, these blighters punch well above their weight, they latch on with their jaws and then sting.....

That "Cricket" is amazing.......

Some great pics. Trip to Tassy planned sometime soon, will keep an eye out for platypus.
Here's a few of mine.

Does your backyard count? Came home to find this fella making a mess in my laundry, then casually strolled out

Does your backyard count?

Hell yeah, love it, good job you didn't try to pick him up and chuck him out, them claws aren't for decoration.

Where we go do most of our w'surfing, we have to deal with passing thru these big bastards for about a third of the year. Their population is growing and taking over our beaches, not enough whites around anymore to keep the population down. They have no fear of us, we have to walk between them to reach the water, but when the males are fighting, you don't want to be anywhere near it, the ground shakes where they are fighting.

Not enough whites? Mate I reckon we could send you some..

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Mark _australia said..
Not enough whites? Mate I reckon we could send you some..

Heh, I was waiting for that, we do have them but the elephant seals are breeding like bacteria, there used to be none on the beach in the pics just 10 years ago, and every year it gets worse. About 150 years ago we had Chumash Indians in this area who would keep the population down also, they could just walk up to them and club them to death. We still have some Chumash that live in the area but the seal are protected now, I say let them have at it, the seals are definitely not endangered anymore.
The food chain is being re-established, whites included, but now it includes humans, I'm not in favor of that.

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Mastbender said..

Mark _australia said..
Not enough whites? Mate I reckon we could send you some..

Heh, I was waiting for that, we do have them but the elephant seals are breeding like bacteria, there used to be none on the beach in the pics just 10 years ago, and every year it gets worse. About 150 years ago we had Chumash Indians in this area who would keep the population down also, they could just walk up to them and club them to death. We still have some Chumash that live in the area but the seal are protected now, I say let them have at it, the seals are definitely not endangered anymore.
The food chain is being re-established, whites included, but now it includes humans, I'm not in favor of that.

Interesting, as its shows the GWS population isn't breading at the same rate as the seals in that area.

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DARTH said..

Mastbender said..

Mark _australia said..
Not enough whites? Mate I reckon we could send you some..

Heh, I was waiting for that, we do have them but the elephant seals are breeding like bacteria, there used to be none on the beach in the pics just 10 years ago, and every year it gets worse. About 150 years ago we had Chumash Indians in this area who would keep the population down also, they could just walk up to them and club them to death. We still have some Chumash that live in the area but the seal are protected now, I say let them have at it, the seals are definitely not endangered anymore.
The food chain is being re-established, whites included, but now it includes humans, I'm not in favor of that.

Interesting, as its shows the GWS population isn't breading at the same rate as the seals in that area.

Because the great white lifecycle is three times longer to maturity than an elephant seals so they are yet to catch up but give em another 5 to 10 years and they will

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Bara said..

DARTH said..

Mastbender said..

Mark _australia said..
Not enough whites? Mate I reckon we could send you some..

Heh, I was waiting for that, we do have them but the elephant seals are breeding like bacteria, there used to be none on the beach in the pics just 10 years ago, and every year it gets worse. About 150 years ago we had Chumash Indians in this area who would keep the population down also, they could just walk up to them and club them to death. We still have some Chumash that live in the area but the seal are protected now, I say let them have at it, the seals are definitely not endangered anymore.
The food chain is being re-established, whites included, but now it includes humans, I'm not in favor of that.

Interesting, as its shows the GWS population isn't breading at the same rate as the seals in that area.

Because the great white lifecycle is three times longer to maturity than an elephant seals so they are yet to catch up but give em another 5 to 10 years and they will

Looking at the specs of both I think you are wrong. I don't think the shark will breed fast enough to control the seal population.

This Mallee fowl and its mate had a nest about 1 km from our house

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DARTH said..

Mastbender said..

Mark _australia said..
Not enough whites? Mate I reckon we could send you some..

Heh, I was waiting for that, we do have them but the elephant seals are breeding like bacteria, there used to be none on the beach in the pics just 10 years ago, and every year it gets worse. About 150 years ago we had Chumash Indians in this area who would keep the population down also, they could just walk up to them and club them to death. We still have some Chumash that live in the area but the seal are protected now, I say let them have at it, the seals are definitely not endangered anymore.
The food chain is being re-established, whites included, but now it includes humans, I'm not in favor of that.

Interesting, as its shows the GWS population isn't breading at the same rate as the seals in that area.

It's happening up and down the coast of California, but with harbor seals and sea lions also. Docks and harbors in San Francisco, LA, and San Diego are being over-run by them taking over, and they are all protected. People are not happy, they are hanging out on the docks and even in the boats that they can get into.
I'm pretty sure that whites and whale sharks (kind of a shark) are the only sharks protected, I see all the other ones being fished and caught all the time, so that has to be a factor. But if the seals weren't cute, it would be different, we'd kill 'em and find a use for them, like dog food. They should be treated like the American alligator, too damn many of them, so they kill them and find a use for them.
But that's just me.

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Mastbender said..

DARTH said..

Mastbender said..

Mark _australia said..
Not enough whites? Mate I reckon we could send you some..

Heh, I was waiting for that, we do have them but the elephant seals are breeding like bacteria, there used to be none on the beach in the pics just 10 years ago, and every year it gets worse. About 150 years ago we had Chumash Indians in this area who would keep the population down also, they could just walk up to them and club them to death. We still have some Chumash that live in the area but the seal are protected now, I say let them have at it, the seals are definitely not endangered anymore.
The food chain is being re-established, whites included, but now it includes humans, I'm not in favor of that.

Interesting, as its shows the GWS population isn't breading at the same rate as the seals in that area.

It's happening up and down the coast of California, but with harbor seals and sea lions also. Docks and harbors in San Francisco, LA, and San Diego are being over-run by them taking over, and they are all protected. People are not happy, they are hanging out on the docks and even in the boats that they can get into.
I'm pretty sure that whites and whale sharks (kind of a shark) are the only sharks protected, I see all the other ones being fished and caught all the time, so that has to be a factor. But if the seals weren't cute, it would be different, we'd kill 'em and find a use for them, like dog food. They should be treated like the American alligator, too damn many of them, so they kill them and find a use for them.
But that's just me.

We are getting a lot of seals here as well, also protected. Sounds like our GWS population is bigger than yours tho.

He/she was back again this morning.

I hooked one just outside Bathurst by mistake back when I murdered fish for a hobby.

The lure snagged It in the back leg. It was a male and the spines were clearly evident. I lifted it by the skin on its back to get it into a position where I could get the hook out without damaging either of us and it was like lifting a plastic bag full of water in that an awful lot of skin came up before the platypus. I unhooked it and let it go and on the way home there was a piece on the radio about wealthy Japanese collecting protected animals.

Apparently the going rate for a live platypus was $26mil!

Not as cool as a platypus but i'm quite proud of this photo.

if the going rate for platypus was even half what you quoted theyd be gonski years ago

The first pic is a freshwater crayfish now protected living 30 metres from my back door and the Fairy Penguin made a nest under our deck at the shack We see platypus and echidnas in the wild regularly here in Tas

I entitled this collection 'Love is...'