Platypus Return to Sydney National Park After 50 Years

A platypus receives a health check at Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia, on June 9, 2021. Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images

Platypus have returned to Sydney’s Royal National Park for the first time in five decades as part of a state-first translocation program.

Five female platypus have been released into the national park south of Sydney, and four males will follow in the coming week after the quartet establish their territory.