ScienceThe ConversationMeet ‘platypus man’ Harry Burrell. He transformed Australian science - and put on quite a show
The Australian Museum is opening an exhibit about Harry Burrell, the vaudeville performer turned naturalist who first kept platypuses in captivity for scientific study.
A self-described ‘platypoditudinarian’, Burrell figured out how to keep these animals in captivity – which allowed them to be studied.
The Australian Museum is staging an exhibit about Harry Burrell, the self-taught naturalist who pioneered keeping platypuses in captivity for scientific research.
Burrell invented a portable platypus carrier called a platypusary, modelled on burrow networks, and was the first person documented keeping platypuses alive in captivity.
His work answered basic questions nobody had solved before, including how much a platypus needs to eat each day simply to survive.
The upcoming Australian Museum exhibit features images and specimens from Burrell's collection, so it is worth looking out for if you are curious about platypus science.
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