Royal welcome

With so much natural beauty all in one place, New South Wales’ Royal National Park attracts droves of adventure-seekers to hike, swim and camp. Although wildlife abounds here, a chemical spill on the highway 50 years ago wiped out the platypus population. There is some good news, however. The University of NSW has teamed up with WWFAustralia, Taronga Zoo and NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service to reintroduce the shy mammals back into the park’s rivers. “Platypuses are to our rivers what koalas are to our forests, but there’s a risk they will disappear if we don’t talk bold steps to reverse their decline,” says WWF-Australia rewilding program manager Rob Brewster. “This project will combine rigorous scientific monitoring with on-ground action to return platypuses to rivers they once called home.” An initial group of 10 platypuses will be introduced into suitable rivers and their progress tracked via acoustic tags. Good luck, platypuses! wwf.org.au