Toowoomba wildlife biologist Trish Lee-Hong rehabilitates platypus

Found near-starved and drowned in a Brisbane storm drain, a platypus has made an incredible comeback, but his survival depends on his carer finding the money to pay for his expensive $800 a week diet.

Swimming around in a little plastic pond in the backyard of a Toowoomba wildlife rescue rehabilitation is Torpedo, a 7-month old platypus who is not at all ready to give up on life.

Found near starved and drowned in a Brisbane storm drain, this little platypus has had quite the journey to where he is now, an active little guy who is constantly grooming himself, sleeping or eating his carer dry.

“He was in a fragile situation, found floating in a storm drain, we are not sure how long he was there with his injuries,” his current carer Trish Lee-Hong said.

Torpedo had back and leg injuries and first spent some time at RSPCA Wacol and Australia Zoo before being given to Ms Lee-Hong for rehabilitation with the aim of getting him back out into the creeks.

Ms Lee-Hong is a wildlife biologist who specialises in monotreme rehabilitation and said it was both “exciting and overwhelming” to have Torpedo in her care.

Trish Lee-Hong has been working to get Torpedo back into the wild after the platypus found near-starved and drowned in a Brisbane storm drain. Picture: Christine Schindler

Platypuses are incredible creatures and as aquatic feeders they only eat live food, such as prawns, little fish, yabbies, and worms.

On top of that, they require a dry burrow to sleep in and keeping them alive is both expensive and time consuming, without the right support and environment they are known to often die in captivity.

Helping Torpedo gain weight has been Ms Lee-Hong’s job for the last month – she feeds him every few hours and makes sure he doesn’t burn off his food too quickly, frequently moving him between water and a dry container.

She admitted she’s a little besotted with him, watching him grooming and keeping him warm, but the financial drain hasn’t been easy, and she estimates he eats about $800 of food a week.

Trish Lee-Hong has been working to get Torpedo back into the wild after the platypus found near-starved and drowned in a Brisbane storm drain. Picture: Christine Schindler

In that time he has gone from about 447g to 508g and apart from a few scars on his back he is looking very healthy.

“It is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and if it breaks me financially, it breaks me financially,” she said.

A GoFundMe was started by one of the volunteers to help keep Torpedo’s food supply constant and to support the construction of a habitat that would see him transition into the wild.

Toowoomba-based wildlife veterinarian Dr Rosemary Booth has lost count of the platypuses she has looked after over the last 30 odd years, and she has been working with Ms Lee-Hong to ensure Torpedo gets the best chance at rehabilitation.

“It’s extraordinary that he has managed to survive this long after coming out of a Brisbane storm drain when he was so thin,” she said.

It is a message, she said, of the importance of finding ways to manage our cities in a way that we can share them with our wildlife, and to look after the freshwater streams.

Wildlife Rescue Rehabilitation and Education Association are calling for donations to keep Torpedo fed and looked after.

To donate see the link here or scan the QR code.

Platypus fundraiser