The San Diego Zoo Safari Park has a deadly collection of…Platypuses?!?!
I had always thought of the platypus as one of evolution’s oddities. A strangely cute water mammal with a duck-bill, that lays on its back and plays with its hands. I had a lot to learn at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.
I had no idea that these unusual creatures were also killers!
Yes. That’s right. Male platypuses have a spur on the back of their foot. The spur is connected to a gland in the ankle. When in danger, the platypus will strike its foe with that spur, injecting poisonous venom into the enemy.
The spur is believed to be used in fights during mating season. Nothing out of the ordinary there, the males of all species are fighting for mates in one way or another. Some use poisonous spikes, some have spectacular plumage, some brute strength, and some drive Ferraris.
A pain resistant to morphine?
The poison is not lethal to fully grown humans. But it will cause immediate, sustained, and devastating pain that’s resistant to morphine and other painkillers. (1) Anyone who is unlucky enough to get kicked by a platypus will experience days of this pain, plus muscle deterioration and nausea.
Anything half the size of a human is in a real bad place after being kicked. The poison will kill. A pain resistant to morphine? No thanks.
And here I thought the lions and tigers were the deadly zoo animals.
The San Diego Zoo has been on my bucket list for many years. I have always loved zoos, and wrote about visiting the Toronto Zoo with my late wife here. We have a lot to learn from the animals. They are smarter than we usually give them credit.
I spent a couple of days this past October at the San Diego Zoo and the Safari Park. Since the zoo is in the middle of the city, expansion had to take place at another location. The Safari Park has acres of space for the animals to roam in a more natural setting. We know that the health of the animals is improved with larger, more natural settings.
San Diego has a climate that works better for many animals as well. Certain animals can be outside, whereas in northern climates they can not. The Toronto Zoo has ended its elephant program, as the climate just isn’t right for elephants.
Polar bears in San Diego?
Oddly, the San Diego Zoo has a Polar bear exhibit. I was surprised, thinking how is this right? Is this not the exact opposite of the elephant situation? The bears look hungry, but they are fine. They have lost the fat that was necessary to survive winter and look thin. I was told that the zoo brought the polar bears to San Diego as cubs, moving them to the warmer climate in stages, so the bears could more easily adapt. Still seems weird.
I may not have kids of my own, but I sure love watching the kids at the zoo. The way their faces light up when they see a cool animal for the first time is magic. Hearing the excitement in their voices when they point out an animal to their siblings or parents. Of course, the big cats and anything dangerous are the kids’ favorites.
I love the way more inquisitive children will read the signs and learn about the animals. Then happily tell their parents that “The Komodo Dragon is a fierce predator that will eat anything it wants to. Including other Komodo Dragons and people!” Their eyes grow wide as saucers as they watch the lizards walk around, their tongues constantly flashing out to ‘taste the air’. A favorite animal to see at any zoo that has them.
I treated myself to a ‘behind the scenes’ look at the zoo. The guide took us through some sections not normally accessed by the public. We saw the Koalas up close, and the elephants from above in their research / medical building. We tried to feed the giraffes, but they were not interested in our meager offerings of grass.
I showed our guide a video I have of giraffes eating carrots from my wife’s and my hands, and suggested that would get them over so the kids could feed them.
Is anything cuter than newborn tiger cubs?
The Safari Park has a couple of young tiger cubs. Mom and cubs were out in the habitat when I was there. It was so cute to see the tiger cubs play, wrestle and run around. Mom kept tabs on the youngsters, but let them run around at will. The kids loved seeing the babies, but were very disappointed to know that dad had to be kept separate because he would kill the cubs.
Kids love to learn at the zoo!
It’s never too early to teach kids about conservation. They care. They get it. Kids understand that extinct is forever. The San Diego Zoo has very cool exhibits on extinction and fossils, and why and how we should protect endangered animals.
The exhibit below has a water line that rises and lowers, hiding and then revealing the skeletons and fossils. Very cool. I have been to the tar sands in Alberta, near Drumheller, where many perfect fossilized skeletons have been found, preserved by the thick tar oil.
California has a similar area, the La Brea Tar Pits. This model shows some of the many skeletons and fossilized remains that were found there. The thick tar is one of the best preservers of prehistoric life, and we learn a lot from studying the remains. Such as clues to prevent our own extinction.
I rode the skyway for great overhead views of the zoo, saw the keeper’s show at the Wegeforth Bowl, and saw the Red Pandas. A young panda was just born as a result of a breeding program with the Toronto Zoo.
I like how the zoo is also keeping plant life alive. For many of the same reasons that animals are endangered, so are plants. I saw many plants that I had never seen before. Biodiversity matters. A healthy planet depends on biodiversity.
So many signs at the Zoo. Some keep you safe, and some teach us about our natural world. Some you expect to see, and some you don’t.
Go to your local zoo. A great place for a date! Support conservation efforts. The animals are worth it. Even those venomous platypuses.
Copyright 2024, Michael Williams. All rights reserved.
(1) The Nature Conservancy. https://blog.nature.org/2019/10/07/the-platypus-is-weirder-than-you-ever-imagined/
