Two people caught riding a train with a platypus

The two people wanted after being seen at the North Train Station Brisbane in Australia With their arms, the little platypus was captured. A 26-year-old man, accompanied by a woman, was seen Thursday on a commuter train with a wild platypus covered in a bath towel.

The man will appear in court on Saturday on charges of committing crimes Animation protection. He is accused of removing the animal from its natural habitat, a waterway in northern Queensland, transporting it on a train and then to a shopping centre.

The animal has not yet been located

“The couple were seen showing the animal to people at the mall,” Queensland Police said in a statement. Police said the animal has since been “released into the Caboolture River” but “has not yet been located by the authorities,” casting doubt on its state of health.

Taking platypuses from the wild is prohibited by Queensland’s Conservation Act, subject to a penalty of A$430,000 (€264,000) in fines. The platypus, a shy, nocturnal animal, and one of the rare mammals that lay eggs, 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’s beak, British scientists thought it was a hoax when they first saw it in the late 18th century.

20 minutes with AFP