English
When urban mountain-biker Peter Walsh stumbles across a bizarre creature living in the heart of the city, his life is about to change forever. From a personal low after a medical diagnosis, he develops a fresh connection with nature, gradually forming a bond with an animal he names ‘Zoom’. An egg-laying, duck-billed, venom-spined, furry-coated, underwater mammal otherwise known as a platypus.
Zoom takes Pete on an upriver journey of discovery, deeper into the world of a species everyone’s heard of but few have ever seen. Along the way, Pete films platypus behaviour never before captured on camera and meets wildlife biologists unveiling new insights into the secret life of an animal that’s been around since the time of the dinosaurs.
After finding Zoom tangled in plastic, Pete begins a grass-roots movement, reaching out to the community around him and tackling everything from diggers to toxic spills. When Zoom disappears after a flash flood, Pete ventures into the mysterious graffiti-covered underworld of the city and discovers urban wildlife thriving in the most surprising corners of town.
Zoom herself is on a mission. After comical encounters with ducks and close shaves with flash floods, Pete follows her search for a mate and burrow in which to lay eggs. The male platypus she meet are equally mysterious beasts – aggressive, territorial and with venomous spurs on their legs. The Platypus Guardian is a universal story celebrating the urban wildlife often hidden under our noses and unravelling mysteries of one of the world’s weirdest animals.
