The Cute Baby Platypus That’s Been Going Viral Turns Out To Be A Stone Carving

We bet we can all agree that it’s hard to scroll past a photo or a video of a baby animal. Be it a puppy, a kitty, or even a baby platypus. Yup, the latter is surely an unlikely sight online. So, seeing it would definitely be the highlight of your day in an instant. And apparently, the internet also lost it when a photo of this cute creature surfaced on Twitter.

People couldn’t help but share the photo and express their admiration towards the little fellow. Some even went as far as dressing him up with a hat and a tux. What a fine, young gentleman! One user even wrote, “I think a baby platypus is the closest we’re going to get to a baby Yoda.” Well, we couldn’t agree more. It just looks so innocent and precious.

 

 

 

 

 

However, don’t be too quick to fall for this young monotreme’s charm. Because sadly, it’s just a work of art and an awesome one at that. It turns out that it’s one of the many marvelous masterpieces of fantasy artist, Vladimir Matic-Kuriljov. Essentially, it’s just a sculpture made of polymer clay. But for it to trick people into thinking it’s the real deal, his work is undoubtedly worthy of all the attention it’s getting.

Plus, the good news is this incident has sparked more interest in the true form of this semiaquatic mammal. So, people have also begun sharing real photos of puggles—who would’ve thought they had a proper name? And they’re equally adorable too!

 

 

 

But despite their cute build and innocent looks, platypuses are, in fact, among the world’s venomous animals. Males, in particular, have venomous spurs on insides of their ankles. Another fun fact is that they’re one of the only two mammals that lay eggs—the other one being echidna. They can also detect electrical signals, which come in handy in finding food. The only sad fact is that they’re now on the brink of extinction due to prevalent habitat destruction.