the platypus

The platypus is a mammal. It is one of the world's strangest animal. It has a bill which looks like the bill of a duck. It has webbed feet which enables it to spend its life in the water. It has fur on its body.

The female platypus produces milk and nurses its young. The platypus does not give birth to its young alive but it lays eggs. It is the only mammal in the world besides the anteater that lays eggs.

Platypuses always live near rivers and lakes. They live in holes, in the banks of rivers and streams. During the day, they sleep in their burrows but at night, they come out to look for food. The bills of the platypus are tough and leathery.

They swim along the bottom of the rivers, nuzzling through the sand, mud and pebbles for worms, insects, crayfish and other small fresh water animals.