Only in South Australia is it listed as endangered, but the species is currently listed as "near-threatened" (2016) internationally under the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List.

On the mainland, the species is most common in the upland rivers and creeks of the Great Dividing Range.

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So how are platypus populations faring under the combined additional stresses of fire and drought?

Evidence is coming in that yet another tragic impact on our wildlife is unfolding before our eyes.

Knowledgeable locals are reporting dead and dying (starving) platypuses in many of the east-flowing rivers, including those that have ceased to flow.

These are also areas that have been catastrophically affected by recent bushfires.

Historically, platypus and their prey species survive droughts and drying rivers by retreating to refugia habitats, usually large pools, wetlands or spring-fed tributaries, enabling a breeding population to be maintained.

When river flows eventually increase again, the surviving platypus reinvade river systems, allowing numbers to rebuild slowly.

Because this drought is so severe, rivers and creeks that have previously continued to flow, or have at least been able to maintain a series of large pools, have completely dried out.

Before the current drought, local extinctions of platypus were already occurring in the smaller creeks across its range mainly due to habitat loss, over-extraction of water and land and waterway degradation.

Climate change scientists have predicted that the frequency of droughts in southern Australia will increase, likely resulting in a coalescing series of local extinction events for the platypus.

The worst scenario, however, is yet to happen. When drought-breaking rains do eventually come, this will result in a significant inflow into rivers and creeks of organic material and silt from fire-affected catchments and overgrazed farming landscapes.

Such events will set off a massive increase in bacteria in affected waterways, leading to rapid deoxygenation of water and mass kills of fish and other freshwater organisms on which platypus feed.

This will likely lead to more starving platypuses and, ultimately, their deaths.

Almost certainly this iconic species will soon be listed as a threatened species - likely to become extinct unless we manage our land and waterways much better than we have in the past.

The extinction of this species is unthinkable and would be unforgivable!