Platypus Matters

In Platypus Matters, Jack Ashby blends natural history, field observation and cultural history to celebrate Australia’s mammals, especially the platypus and echidna.

He examines their biology and behaviour, the colonial reactions that labelled them 'primitive', and conservation challenges they face.

Ashby uses personal field stories, museum scholarship and recent science to reframe these animals as remarkable and worthy of attention.

The book critiques historical and modern biases that diminish Australian wildlife and calls for greater respect and protection.

Throughout, Ashby interweaves accessible science with evocative storytelling to make a case for why these mammals matter.