Man charged for taking wild platypus on train and shopping spree

A man in Australia has been charged with animal protection offences after taking a platypus on a train ride and showing it to members of the public at a shopping center. The platypus was allegedly removed from a waterway in northern Queensland and its fate remains unknown after being released into the Caboolture River. Platypuses are a threatened species facing a silent extinction due to prolonged droughts, bushfires, a changing climate, and land clearing that have impacted their habitat and decreased their population.