‘They need all the help they can get’: Sad downfall of famous Aussie icon

A shocking new report has prompted urgent pleas to do more to protect Australia’s unique wildlife, including this unique creature.

One of Australia’s most elusive and unique creatures is under threat as the natural world degrades around them.

The platypus is often regarded as one of the world’s strangest animals; webbed-toed, duck-billed and one of only two mammals to lay eggs.

Naturalist Jack Ashby, whose speciality is the platypus, said the famously shy creatures were among the Australian species to have diminished considerably.

“There’s been calls to have them listed federally as more threatened. Victoria listed them as threatened last year,” he told the ABC on Tuesday.

“Because they’re so hard to spot, (they’re) out of sight, if you like, but people always think oh, it’s always been unusual to see a platypus, so they don’t expect to see them.”

The platypus was added to Victoria’s threatened species list and classified as “vulnerable” in the state last year. But the species isn’t listed as threatened under federal environmental laws.

The platypus is on Victoria’s threatened species list. Picture: Supplied

Mr Ashby’s comments come as the latest five-yearly national environmental assessment finds many Australian mammal species are in danger.

The long-awaited public release of the 2021 State of the Environment report on Tuesday has prompted urgent calls for action to protect Australia’s wildlife.

The report notes that Australia has lost more mammal species than any other continent and continues to have one of the highest rates of species decline among OECD nations.

And it says Australian governments at all levels are spending only a fraction of what’s required to avoid extinctions and recover threatened species.

The total annual spend from all governments was about $122m in 2018-2019 – a mere 15 per cent of the $1.69bn that scientists estimate is needed per year.

Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek unveiled the scientific assessment of Australia's ecosystems on Tuesday. Picture: Lee Robinson

Mr Ashby said following the report’s release it was obvious that Australians were “dearly in love” with their wildlife but successive governments hadn’t done enough to protect it.

“They need all the help they can get. One third of all the (world’s) mammals that have gone extinct since 1788 have gone extinct in Australia,” he said.

“Australia has lost at least 10 per cent of its fauna, in terms of just mammal species, and many of the other species that survive are in significantly diminished populations.”

The scientists who authored the report warn that all aspects of the Australian environment are under pressure, with the process being accelerated by climate change, mining and a lack of government leadership.

Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek said the assessment had produced a “shocking document” that made for “disturbing reading”.