|
I went to the Australia Zoo up in Queensland and I didn't see an exhibit for the Duckbilled Platypus there at all. How can the "Australia" Zoo not have one of Australia's Icons there? I will have to write Steve Irwin about that. I then went to the Taronga Zoo in Sydney, and that one is aptly nick-named "The Zoo With the View" I went there with Corinne, and I told her I wanted to see the Platypus, the Echidna, and a Kookaburra. First stop was the Echidna since it was on the way to the Platypus. I saw two of them there walking around in their enclosure. They were so cute. I saw a picture in one of the brochures for the Taronga Zoo that had a girl giving one a cuddle. They don't exactly look like the cuddling type with all the spines on their back. One of their names is the "spiny anteater" and I must admit that it is fitting. I have never seen a Porcupine, but I assume that they look similar in the body except that the porcupine's quills are much slimmer and they can shoot theirs at people. The Echidna's don't even come out, and the face is definitely different. But I wanted to pick it up and give it a cuddle like the girl in the brochure. I resisted, and got some decent pictures instead. The next stop was the Platypus den. We went in and it was really dark. After my eyes adjusted, I saw lots of Crawdads, but no Platypus. I was disappointed, but I figured I could come back later and see one, and they had another enclosure for them somewhere else in the zoo. So I still had the Kookaburra left, and I got a great pic of one up close. I still didn't hear them make their call though. I'll have to go back to Australia if just to hear that in real life (not on TV). It amazed me on how big their head was in comparison to their body. It made me wonder how intelligent they were to have a head that size. We went to the other Platypus enclosure and it was out in the daylight. There were supposed to be other animals in here too somewhere, but we saw none of the three listed on the map we were given. I saw a lizard and some birds, but that was it. We headed back to the first dark Platypus place, and went inside. I knew this was my last chance to see one at the zoo, so I hoped beyond hope that I would still see one. Of course my desires were nothing compared to the great hiding ability of the mighty Platypus. I struck out. Three chances, and not a single sign that they were there. Well there was a sign. The sign said "Where is the Platypus" and gave reasons for not seeing one. I got a picture of the sign, sure that I would have to show all my friends and family back home the reason I didn't have a picture of one when I was going to have more than 1000 pictures by the time I was done with my trip. I actually ended up with 1,400+ (Ain't digital cameras great?) I had been to two zoos in Australia and I had not seen a platypus. How could that be? After visiting the Taronga Zoo an idea hatched. As I thought about it I became more a more convinced that the "Duck-Billed Platypus" does not exist. It was an elaborate hoax created by the Australians to trick gullible American TV watchers, tourists, and science types to believing that such an animal could exist. Yeah, that is what it was. Sure I'd seen them on TV, but I've also seen Superman, Dinosaurs, and Aliens on TV. That doesn't make any of them real. Well dinosaurs may have been real, and Aliens may be real, but I won't believe it until an Alien comes up says "hi" to me and then shows me his tentacles (assuming that is not a rude gesture for Aliens). So I was convinced that the Platypus was a figment of someone's imagination and that person had tricked all the science types to saying it was real. How easy would this be to do?
Step #1 Dream up the Duck-Billed Platypus while smoking a bong: He has the bill of a duck, the tail of a beaver, he is a mammal, and he lays eggs.
Step #2 Make a shadowy and jerky film about the model made up for the animal, and send it to a nature show on PBS. My Papa (Grandfather) had a Jackalope, part jack-rabbit and part antelope, head sitting in his living room like a hunting trophy, so the model would not be hard to make.
Step #3 Other scientist types and nature show producers come Down Under to see this amazing beast. When they can't find the mythical creature, ridicule them and tease them. Then have a buddy come in posing as a nature show producer, and have him show the footage he just captured of this elusive creature in the same shadowy and jerky way.
Step #4 Let their egos take over. They will all make fake videos to prove they are not inferior to your friend, the (fake) nature show producer. These will of course vary in how well they are made since some are given larger budgets than others.
Step #5 This will perpetuate itself to the point where Zoos will put up habitats for this creature that doesn't exist and then make up excuses ("Where is the Platypus") why the zoo visitors won't be able to see them on that particular day.
Oh what a wonderful world we live in to have things like this happen to us. Fooled by the best hoax in the world.
I had one last chance to see one. The Sydney Aquarium boasted of having one, so I decided to go there. |
|
