Morbidity and mortality of monotremes admitted to the Australian Wildlife Health Centre, Healesville Sanctuary, Australia, 2000-2014.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The medical records of individual monotremes admitted to the Australian Wildlife Health Centre from 2000 to 2014 were reviewed to determine the causes of morbidity and mortality. RESULTS: During this period, a total of 38 platypus (Ornithorhyncus anatanus) and 273 short-beaked echidnas (Tachyglossus aculeatus) were examined. Trauma was the most significant reason for monotreme admissions, accounting for 73.7% of platypus cases and 90.1% of short-beaked echidna cases. Within the category of trauma, entanglement (28.6%) and unknown trauma (28.6%) were most significant for platypus, while impact with motor vehicle (73.2%) and domestic dog attack (14.2%) were the most significant subcategories for short-beaked echidnas. CONCLUSION: Indirect anthropogenic factors are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality of monotremes in Victoria, Australia.