The platypus feeds by snagging swimming creatures with its bill and by rousting them out of stream bottom mud and gravel, shoveling it up with its bill to put buried creatures to flight, then catching them as they try to escape.

Since the platypus must breathe air, it combines underwater hunting with trips to the surface to exhale and inhale. It will usually stay submerged for about a minute at a time, although it can stay submerged for up to five minutes.

Imam al-Baqir (PBUH) said: No one is safe from sins unless the one controls his/her tongue.

Platypus normally hunt and feed at night, but have been seen doing so in the daytime. In the water, a platypus propels itself with powerful strokes of its forelimbs, the extended webbing adding extra push to the motions. It uses the hindlimbs and tail only for steering. As it swims, the platypus swings its head from side to side, allowing a full scan of its surroundings with its sensitive bill.

The Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him and his progeny) said: The destruction of man lies in three (things): his stomach, his lusts, and his tongue.

A platypus may have up to a dozen camping burrows strung along the banks of its territory, providing numerous nearby, safe havens. The animal rotates the burrows for shelter, staying at each a few days, probably to keep down its population of parasites.

A nesting burrow can be as long as 90 feet (30 meters), with two or more branching tunnels that circle about and eventually lead to the central nesting chamber.

Imam Ali (PBUH) said: Do contemplate before speaking so that you may guard yourself from (committing) errs.

The Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him and his progeny) said: Among all things, the tongue deserves to be prisoned longer than anything else. (Because most of our sins are committed by it, such as backbiting, telling lies, defaming, mocking, insulting, etc.)

A burrow entrance tunnel is barely wide enough to allow the platypus to pass, so that when the animal emerges from water and forces itself through the entrance tunnel, water on the pelt is squeezed and sponged off, and the platypus fur is dry when it enters the main tunnel.

The Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him and his progeny) said: Affliction caused by the tongue is worse than (that caused by) the strike of the blade of a sword.

Both sorts of burrows keep their entrances at, slightly above, or below water level, the entrance tunnel climbing at an angle a few feet above water level to prevent flooding of the burrow. The openings can be difficult to spot, since platypus prefer to build them as hidden as possible in sturdy, concave banks with reeds and other aquatic plants at the water edge, and overhanging sod and tree roots.