Ten platypuses released into the Royal National Park three months ago are all still alive and researchers hope they will produce young in the coming months.
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The monotremes were reintroduced to the Hacking River in May in a bid to establish a sustainable and genetically diverse platypus population in the national park, which had been absent platypuses for half a century.
"So far we have 10 platypus that we know are still alive, so that's 100 per cent survival," WWF-Australia rewilding program manager Rob Brewster told the Mercury.
"That's almost unheard of in a translocation to the wild."
Mr Brewster said it was too early to label the program a success, but this was an encouraging sign and showed the team's assessments of the quality of habitat, the food and shelter available, and threats like dogs and foxes were likely correct.
Dr Gilad Bino, a member of the team from UNSW's Centre for Ecosystem Science, said some of promising results came down to the platypuses themselves, explaining they were a "relatively hardy species".
"First of all, credit to the platypuses," Dr Bino said.
Platypuses had a bit of fat storage to draw on in hard times, he said, but with all 10 accounted for after three months, it suggested that they had plenty to eat in their new home.
The platypuses are monitored through implanted acoustic transmitters, which ping listening stations along the waterways.
The researchers can then download this data and monitor where the animals are, providing an insight into their movements, how they establish territories, and how the males and females interact.
The scientists hope the interactions between the two sexes will increase and courtship and mating will begin from September.
Mr Brewster and Dr Bino hope this will result in sightings of juvenile platypuses early next year.
Mine landslip 'disappointing'
Mr Brewster said it was "almost too early to tell" whether a recent landslip from Peabody Energy's Metropolitan Colliery into Camp Gully Creek at Helensburgh was going to affect the platypuses, but Dr Bino said he was led to believe it was not a concern.
Dr Bino said the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) informed him that the landslip was much smaller in terms of pollution than events involving Metropolitan Collieries last year, which did not have any noticeable impact on macroinvertebrates (a platypus food source) and only a localised impact on water quality.
However, he was disappointed the landslip occurred and said he would hate to see any further similar events.
"These instances are disappointing and there's no justification for such events," Dr Bino said.
Mr Brewster said further monitoring would tell researchers whether this most recent event had had any impact, explaining too much sedimentation in the water could limit platypuses' food and affect their burrows.
The EPA issued a clean-up notice following the landslip on August 6, which sent discoloured water and sediment downstream into the Hacking River.
In an update on August 18, the agency said work to repair the landslip and clean up the creek were progressing well, and turbidity at the site and downstream had improved.
A Peabody spokesperson said the company was committed to removing the remaining material in cooperation with the EPA.
"After an intensive two-week cleanup a significant amount of the slumped material has already been cleared from the creek and the majority is expected to be removed by the end of the week," the spokesperson said.
"Peabody responded immediately to the incident and erected sediment fencing around the displaced material to redirect the water and reduce the impact on water quality."
The clean-up and stabilisation work is expected to take several weeks.
Mr Brewster said having the platypus was making the community look at the Royal National Park and the ecosystem with more rigour, and think about what was acceptable and not acceptable in terms of pollution.
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Natalie Croxon
Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs. Previously of the Bendigo Advertiser, Northern Daily Leader and Quirindi Advocate. Our Watch award winner.
Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs. Previously of the Bendigo Advertiser, Northern Daily Leader and Quirindi Advocate. Our Watch award winner.
