Australian Man Arrested After Stealing a Platypus From the Wild and Taking It on a Train

Following a plea for help from the public, police in Australia have charged a man with removing a platypus from the wild and taking it on a public train on Tuesday.

Queensland Police announced the unnamed 26-year-old man was arrested earlier today and charged with one count each of taking protected animal class 1 offense and restriction on keeping or using taken protected animal class 1 offense. An alleged female accomplice has spoken with investigators but has not yet been charged with a crime.

CTV surveillance footage showed a man with a woman who was carrying the platypus in a plastic shopping bag. They boarded a public train at the Morayfield Station and exited the train in Caboolture where they visited a King Street shopping center with the platypus. The police also allege the two showed the platypus to other members of the public.

The platypus was released in the Caboolture River, but authorities have been unable to locate it and its condition is unknown.

Police warned the public against folks thinking of taking a platypus or other wild animals from their natural habitat.

“Taking a platypus from the wild is not only illegal, but it can be dangerous for both the displaced animal and the person involved if the platypus is male as they have venomous spurs,” Queensland Police said.