can they? The duck­billed platypuses of eastern Australia are small,

　　shy animals. This small mammal is such a strange creature that when the first one arrived at the British Museum in London in 1798,

　　scientists thought that someone was playing a practical joke on them.

　　One cannot blame the scientists for having such a thought because it is definitely one of nature's strangest creatures alive.It looks like an animal which has been put together using various parts of different animals.It is a four­legged animal with a tail like a beaver's(海狸),

　　webbed feet and a duck's bill.It has no outer ears.What is strange still is the fact that it breastfeeds its young like all other mammals,

　　yet lays eggs like fish,

　　reptiles and birds.It grows to about 47 centimeters in length and weighs around 1.5 kilogrammes.

　　Male platypuses are poisonous. They have a pointy part on their hind ankles that connects to a poison bag in each leg. They mainly use these weapons in mating battles with other males. However,

　　if threatened,

　　they will use them to attack their enemies.

　　The platypus is native to Australia. There are thousands of them living in the wet lands,

　　lakes and rivers of eastern Australia and parts of Tasmania. It feeds on underwater animals such as shrimps,

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