Lucky platypus Ruby escapes garbage snare fate

Platypus Ruby is thanking her lucky stars for Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary rescuers, who helped her to escape a potentially deadly situation. See the moment it was released back into the wild.

One young platypus will be thanking its lucky stars after Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary rescuers saved her from a miserable fate.

The 24/7 rescue team at Bonorong received a call earlier this week from a concerned member of the public who had spotted a platypus underneath a New Norfolk bridge with what appeared to be litter stuck around its neck.

A team of volunteer rescuers headed to the bridge, taking two days to finally rescue the stuck platypus.

Bonorong rescuers captured the sweet moment lucky platypus Ruby was released back into the wild. Picture: supplied.

Once back at the sanctuary, rescuers were finally able to assess Ruby’s condition, cutting an elastic band off her neck.

After some fluids and TLC, rescuers were able to release Ruby back to her home, the heartfelt moment captured on video.

Bonorong director Greg Irons said it was a simple stroke of luck that she was in pretty good condition.
“She’s definitely a lucky little platypus,” he said.

“The band we found on her hadn’t been on her long, but also hadn’t been tight enough to cause her harm or stop her feeding.

The elastic band caught around platypus Ruby's neck. Picture: supplied.

“Platypus usually try to get band off with their back legs and get stuck, causing more pressure on their body, but little Ruby was in really good nick.”

Mr Irons said rubbish remains the main reason for rescue call-outs for Bonorong, with Ruby the only platypus from the last five rescues to survive her litter snare.

“It’s a really important reminder for people about litter in our waterways, not just to not dump litter, but to also pick up anything you see around waterways or just in general,” he said.

“When people remember to actively reduce littering in all ways possible, we will start to see changes for our wildlife.”

Mr Irons also expressed his elation at the Sanctuary’s recent successful Wild Night Out fundraiser, with $25,000 raised that will go into supporting the wildlife hospital.

Originally published as Lucky platypus Ruby escapes garbage snare fate