Baby platypuses usually stay with their mothers for at least five months — so when this little one was found severely dehydrated and thin during a forest fire, these vets knew it was time for some real love and care 💓 #SecretsOfTheZoo | National Geographic TV

Baby platypus are so vulnerable and clumsy. 🥺 Stream "The Platypus Guardian" here: ow.ly/pAQt50PYp4G | Nature | PBS

A female platypus named Zoom preps a nesting site after the mating season. "The Platypus Guardian" premieres Wednesday, October 18 at 8/7c on PBS. | Nature | PBS

This baby platypus is basically just a water puppy! 😍😍 Credit: ViralHog | VT

A baby platypus, commonly called a puggle, begins life by hatching blind and hairless from a small leathery egg. Instead of nursing through nipples, it feeds on milk that seeps from the mother’s skin pores, an unusual trait among mammals. The young remain inside the burrow for protection while they continue to develop. Platypuses are one of the world’s few egg-laying mammals and inhabit freshwater systems across eastern Australia and Tasmania. Although they are not officially classified as endan