Two people are wanted by police on Thursday after they were spotted at a train station north of Brisbane in Australia with a small platypus wrapped in a bath towel in their arms.
Police say the mammal has been removed from its natural habitat in the northern state of Queensland and needs to be “released” as soon as possible.
“We are concerned for the welfare of this animal, which has been removed from its natural habitat,” Queensland Police Commissioner Scott Knowles told reporters.
The authorities also expressed concern about the kidnappers: the male platypus is poisonous and has a spur that causes excruciating pain when it comes into contact with human flesh.
CCTV photos taken on Tuesday show a man in flip-flops walking on the platform of a train station north of Brisbane while carrying the platypus – the size of a kitten – under his arm.
The man and woman then wrapped the animal in a bath towel, “patted it and showed it to other passengers,” police said.
Queensland’s Conservation Act prohibits the taking of platypuses from the wild and carries a maximum fine of AUD 430,000 (EUR 264,000).
A nocturnal, shy animal, the platypus, one of the rare egg-laying mammals, is now found only in eastern Australia. It feeds on worms, insects and small crustaceans.
With a short tail like a beaver and a duck bill, British scientists thought it was a hoax when they first saw it in the late 18th century.