Mama Diaries

Monday, December 15, 2014

The Poisonous Platypus

"Mama," my ten-year-old son said.  "Did you know that platypuses are poisonous?"

"They are?" I asked.  That was news to me.

"Yes.  They can kill a cat or dog with their venom."

"Hmm," I said.  "Did you get this information on You Tube?"

He nodded.

"Then it's probably not right," I said.

"But it was on a National Geographic video."

Uh huh.  That reminded me of the the fake Megalodon video National Geographic put out.  "Okay.  Let's see it," I said.

So he showed me.  And guess what?  Male platypuses are poisonous.  They have spurs on their hind legs that inject poison. The males use them in fighting other males for dominance and mating rights.

If you would like to learn about this silly looking creature, here's a video for you viewing enjoyment. (Now don't say you've never learned anything from visiting my pad!)


31 comments:

  1. That one I knew! I give credit to Wild Kingdom.

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  2. The cat will stay far far away from those funny looking things

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  3. Replies
    1. I hope not! I don't want him getting killed by a sting ray!

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    2. Not exactly what I was going for....

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    3. He's an adventurous, curious little guy, which is wonderful, but I hope he always uses common sense when dealing with wild life.

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  4. I have a little plastic platypus sent to me by an Australian blogger. I hope "she's" a female.

    Love,
    Janie

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    1. And thank you for putting our bloghop graphic on your sidebar.

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    2. You're welcome. And I hope for your sake, that "she's" a female, too!

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  5. Replies
    1. You never know what you're going to learn in a day!

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  6. Well what do you know! I had no clue. Thanks to the little man. :)

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  7. I hadn't a clue either! Your little guy's precious!

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  8. Thanks for the great video! I've always been fascinated by those critters, and it's on my wish list to see one in person some day.I knew about the poison spur, but that's one of the best platypus videos I've ever seen. Bubba is one smart little dude.

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    1. He is a smart little dude. Curious about everything.

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  9. Enjoyed watching the wonderful video mam. Keep posting.

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    1. Glad you enjoyed it. I don't have time to post every day, like I used to, but I'll post as often as I can.

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  10. Enjoy the video Sherry, thanks for sharing.

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  11. I think I could be your child's best friend, if I were the same age. I added that last part so I wouldn't appear creepy. Nothing you say about kids comes out looking right in this day and age...sigh...

    Thanks for the blog graphic - can't wait till Dec. 22!

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    1. It's kind of sad how you have to be so careful about what you say!

      Your blog hop is going to be fun. Looking forward to participating!

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  12. I've heard it too and was equally surprised, they're so cute, especially their babies

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  13. Wow...thanks for sharing this. Good info :)

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    1. Now you know to watch out for those back spurs if you're ever around a platypus.

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  14. So Perry the Platypus is poisonous? *GASP* ;) I had no idea.

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