Aussie pet owners warned after 'sad' detail spotted on suburban roadside

A wildlife rescuer is urging all Australians to be mindful of our native wildlife, particularly while walking dogs, after a juvenile platypus was found dead on the side of a suburban road earlier this week.

The little animal was found in Warrane in Hobart in Tasmania, about five kilometres from the city's CBD, with a concerned bystander taking to social media to question its origins. "I am beyond baffled as to where it could have come from or been going," she wrote online.

Speaking to Yahoo News Australia, Greg Irons, director at the Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary in Warrane, said it's actually not uncommon to find the egg-laying mammals in the area, but sadly, many had turned up dead in recent times after interactions with dogs and from becoming entangled in human garbage.

He said it might be "surprising" to many to learn that in fact, platypus are frequently seen around Hobart and have even adapted to the region in a number of very unique ways.

Wildlife rehabilitation's plea after little platypus found dead in Hobart

"This is the amazing thing with Tassie, and I think there's a good message in that, platypus are just everywhere," he told Yahoo News Australia. "Essentially, if there's a decent sized body of water there's a chance there's platypus in it down here.

• Wildlife carer in state of shock after native animal 'brutally hacked'

• Kangaroo rescued from building site reveals gut-wrenching dilemma

• Sad theory after 'confronting' discovery on side of Aussie road

"So we have to be extra careful with our driving and our rubbish and our dogs and all that sort of thing. Because yeah, and then they could literally be anywhere."

The sanctuary agreed to take the dead animal in for analysis, but Irons said it was too soon to tell what killed it. He said that it's far more common for platypus to be killed from dogs, or from a "rubbish incident", than it is for them to be run over by a car.

"The issue is, being in a suburban area, we often see them die is because of rubbish. The last five or six that have come through, it's been like a rubbish incident," he said, adding that the animals often struggle to free themselves "after getting stuck in garbage".

"Of course dogs are another big issue for them and obviously cars, when they do cross roads, but a lot less common to have them hit by cars than it is from rubbish and dogs."

Fascinating and mysterious lives of platypuses

Irons said sometimes he even gets called out on jobs of platypus seen in stormwater drains, with people worried the animals shouldn't be in there. But, he said, unless the drains are clogged, they're perfectly fine to navigate the piping and have even become accustomed to it.

"We get quite a few calls from people panicking, but there's nothing wrong with it. It's just cruising through," he said. "There's evidence to suggest they use our drains as highways to get from Point A to Point B."

Irons urged Aussies to pick up after themselves, remain cautious when they're out with their dogs and to call the professionals first if they think they've come across a platypus in danger, rather than try to handle them personally.

Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.

You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.