One of two duck-billed platypus born in Melbourne's Healesville Sanctuary, Australia. (Reuters Picture Archive)
The platypus is one of the strangest creatures on the planet. They have a duck-like bill, but also a beaver-like tail. They swim underwater, but they're covered in fur. Oh yeah — and they're venomous like a snake! They're a bit of every animal.
They have super sensitive bills
(Mick Tsikas/Reuters)
When platypuses sink into the water to eat, their senses of sight, smell and hearing turn off. Even their little ears tuck into a groove with their eyes. That's OK, because their bills are so sensitive that they can find their food by sensing sound waves, motion and the electric fields they generate.