Police arrested a person in reference to a platypus taken from its natural habitat on Tuesday morning.
The hunt for the person and woman, in addition to the platypus, began after the pair were allegedly caught on CCTV showing the creature to people on a train.
Police said the couple boarded the train at Morayfield station in Queensland with the animal wrapped in a towel, patting it and showing it to other passengers.
They then allegedly took it to the King Street Mall in Caboolture, where they allegedly showed it to more people.
The animal was reportedly taken from the wild in Moreton, Queensland, at around 11am on Tuesday.
A 26-year-old man was arrested in reference to the incident and charged with one charge each of a Category 1 protected animal offense and one charge of restraining from keeping or using a Class 1 protected animal offence.
![The hunt for the man and woman and the platypus began after the couple allegedly took the animal to King Street Shopping Center and showed it to the public.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/NYPICHPDPICT000009283695.jpg?w=1024)
The illegal capture and keeping of a platypus within the wild is a Class 1 felony under Section 88 of the Wildlife Conservation Act 1992, carrying a maximum penalty of $288,077.
The lady spoke to the police and the investigation is ongoing.
Police were told the animal had been released into the Caboolture River, away from where it was taken.
It has not yet been situated by authorities and its condition is unknown.
The platypus can turn out to be sick, sick or die the longer it’s out of its natural habitat.
![Police were told the animal had been released into the Caboolture River, away from where it was taken.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/NYPICHPDPICT000009283787.jpg?w=1024)
The story of the incident went viral worldwide and made headlines in the USA, Singapore and the UK.
Anyone who sees a sick or injured platypus is asked to report it to the RSPCA on 1300 ANIMAL (1300 264 625) or the Department of Environment and Science (DES) on 1300 130 372.
Police are urging anyone who comes in touch with him to not feed him or introduce him to a recent environment, as this might put people or the animal in danger.
“Not only is it illegal to take a platypus from the wild, it might probably be dangerous for each the displaced animal and the person involved if the platypus is male as they’ve poisonous spurs,” a police spokesman said.
The venom of the platypus shouldn’t be lethal to humans, but it surely causes immense pain.