Scientifically informed and funny, a firsthand account of Australia's
wonderfully unique mammals--and how our perceptions impact their
future.
Think of a platypus: They lay eggs (that hatch into so-called
platypups), produce milk without nipples and venom without fangs, and
can detect electricity. Or a wombat: Their teeth never stop growing,
they poop cubes, and they defend themselves with reinforced rears. And
what about antechinuses--tiny marsupial carnivores whose males don't see
their first birthday, as their frenzied sex lives take so much energy
that their immune systems fail? Platypuses, possums, wombats, echidnas,
devils, kangaroos, quolls, dibblers, dunnarts, kowaris: Australia has
some truly astonishing mammals, with incredible, unfamiliar features.
But how does the world regard these creatures? And what does that mean
for their conservation?
In Platypus Matters, naturalist Jack Ashby shares his love for these
often-misunderstood animals. Informed by his own experiences meeting
living marsupials and egg-laying mammals during fieldwork in Tasmania
and mainland Australia, as well as his work with thousands of zoological
specimens collected for museums over the last two-hundred-plus years,
Ashby's tale not only explains historical mysteries and debunks myths
(especially about the platypus), but also reveals the toll these myths
can take. Ashby makes clear that calling these animals "weird" or
"primitive"--or incorrectly implying that Australia is an "evolutionary
backwater," a perception that can be traced back to the country's
colonial history--has undermined conservation: Australia now has the
worst mammal extinction rate of any place on Earth. Important, timely,
and written with humor and wisdom by a scientist and self-described
platypus nerd, this celebration of Australian wildlife will open eyes
and change minds about how we contemplate and interact with the natural
world--everywhere.