Climate Change Australia: You’ve probably heard about the platypus animal, an odd-shaped mammal that is full of features such as not having a stomach, having a sixth sense, and a venomous spur in their foot. But it looks like these animals are not going to be with us for a long time.

We know many people considered platypus as a weird animal, but the latest numbers suggest that the animal is heading towards the brink of extinction.

Researchers released new numbers that suggested the platypus population around Australia, which is indicating extinction in the near future.

The population of the animal has halved since people settled, built a dam, started to clear land, global warming, and many other disruptions, causing them to die off at a faster rate.

A study that was published in the Biological Conservation, a scientific journal, says that if we as people don’t do anything about nature, there isn’t much we can to do save the platypus animal.

Researchers who conducted the study looked at climate change projections for the next 50 years, which led them to believe that the platypus population could decline as much as 73 percent.

The platypus animal thrives in waterways.

Gilad Bino, the lead author of the study, who is a researcher at the University of New South Wale’s Center for Ecosystem Science, talked about the numbers.

Gilad said, “These dangers further expose the platypus to even worse local extinctions with no capacity to repopulate areas.”

He added, “We are not monitoring what we assume to be a common species. And then we may wake up and realize it’s too late.”

Recently, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, which is also known as the IUCN, recently downgraded the conservation status of the platypus animal to near threatened.

Once an animal’s conservation status is downgraded to near threatened, it means the animal is likely to become endangered in the near future.

Sussan Ley, the spokesperson of the Environment Ministry, said, “Prior to this study, there has not been information collated to suggest that the platypus was threatened so it has not been assessed.”

The spokesperson for the Victorian Environment Department released a statement about the latest numbers.

The statement said, “We’re working with the federal government to determine whether the platypus should be listed as a threatened species at a national level.”