Скачать или смотреть Platypus numbers 'declining' rapidly

Professor Richard Kingsford from the University of NSW says in many river systems, platypus populations are “declining, or they are in trouble”.

Platypus numbers have more than halved since colonisation and are set to decline by between 47 and 66 per cent over 50 years, according to researchers.

Professor Kingsford told Sky News the native marsupials were “not easy to survey” but are luckily “still a long way from extinction”.

Dam building, land clearing and other disruptions to habitat are believed to be the main cause of the drop in population numbers.

Professor Kingsford said the “main focus” was finding ecosystems where they were thriving, and “comparing those rivers to where they are doing badly” in an attempt to try and “move the good river management across”.

Image: Getty