By Anne Gillies

MEANDER’S MARVELLOUS monotreme, the platypus, will be the subject of a pub session with a difference later this month.

Free public platypus information sessions will be held at the Empire Hotel in Deloraine on Sunday 27 October at 3pm and the Mole Creek Hotel on Monday 28 October at 3.30pm.

The talks, which are suitable for all ages, will be given by two of Australia’s top platypus biologists, Drs Geoff Williams and Serena Melody.

The pair, who founded the Australian Platypus Conservancy 25 years ago, want to recruit locals to monitor and protect the local platypus population using the Conservancy’s new website and app – see www.platypusnetwork.org.au.

Deloraine and Mole Creek would make ideal monitoring locations, according to Dr Williams. ‘It is a really unique environment; some locals literally have platypus living in their backyards,’ he said.

‘Because people in the Valley live around platypuses, they may have observed behaviours that not even we scientists know about.’

For further information, please contact Anne Gillies at agilles62@me.com or on 0431 630 348.