Platypus with a plastic ring around his neck pushes a long-term rescue mission

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When he encounters platypus in Lake Far North Queensland a doctor has retired on a month-long trip to free him from his plastic bands.

Ian Gibbs, 79, spotted the monotreme in December 2020 while walking across Peterson’s Creek, southwest of Cairns on the outskirts of Yungaburra.

“He was going around and scratching different areas of his body, so I took a number of pictures,” said Dr. Gibbs.

Concerns about the animal’s health prompted Dr Gibbs to post his photographs online and seek advice from wildlife enthusiasts.

“Eventually the Department of Environment and Science got involved and set up a team here to try to capture the platypus so we could remove the ring,” he said.

“Unfortunately after a day or two they weren’t successful and since then I’ve been trying to figure out where his hole is so we can have more of a chance to catch him again.”

Platypus rolls among aquatic plants and fallen tree branches in shallow creek.
Dr. Gibbs only understood the poor condition of the platypus after uploading the pictures to his computer.(Presented by: Ian Gibbs)

Cool customers

To save his own or anyone else’s monotony of sitting by the harbor for hours, Dr. Gibbs borrowed a camera shoot from a local wildlife group.

“They have a sensor that works from infrared light – it detects the difference in temperature when an animal with warm blood moves against the back,” he said.

“Unfortunately, platypuses have very low body temperatures, and their fur is often wet, which means it is often an even lower temperature.

A platypus with a black cable tie or plastic band around its neck tries to climb up a creek bank.
A closer examination of the photographs showed the extent of the problem for wildlife authorities.(Presented by: Ian Gibbs)

After learning from the failed attempts at photographing platypuses in the harbor, Dr. Gibbs has taken to setting up his cameras over what he suspects are holes.

Backed by tomato stalls, some with a home reducer that allows the camera angle to change, each snare marks directly at the muddy openings that go around the bank.

“By the time the platypus comes out of its hole it should be dry and there should be more variation between the temperature of the platypus and its surroundings,” said Dr Gibbs.

Small camouflaged camera traps hang from wooden poles over two platypus holes in a creek bank.
Dr. Gibbs hopes to pick up a dry platypus coming out of his hole to prove his point.(Presented by: Ian Gibbs)

‘If it’s worth doing work …’

For nearly two months Dr. Gibbs has crossed the banks of Peterson’s Creek setting up five cameras in various positions.

He spends as much as four hours walking the harbor bank, uploading and reviewing photographs and recording what he sees.

“I believe I’m a bit of a tech nerd,” Dr. Gibbs said.

“I got my first computer around the time the first Apple computers came out and I think I’ve never been without a computer since.

A man holds a wooden grip in one hand while opening a camera trap cover with the other.
Dr. Gibbs sometimes spends hours each day retrieving, inspecting and repositioning his camera traps at Peterson’s Creek.(ABC Far North: Mark Rigby)

Until it is fully confirmed, he cannot photograph the platypus with a camera trap, or if he succeeds in locating the animal involved, Dr. Gibbs says he will not stop.

“I’ve always thought that if it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing,” he said.

“Having started this and been on the spot I personally feel it is my duty to make a satisfactory decision.

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