var arrayFacts = [
"Tails can be useful!
Female platypuses use their tails during the nesting process.
The female uses her tail to collect leaves to reinforce her breeding burrow.
She also curls her tail around her eggs, holding them against the warmth of her stomach during the incubation period.",
"Resting in the Rapids:
Platypuses can swim underwater for two minutes at a time. They also relax in the water, underneath logs or other objects, for up to 14 minutes!",
"Strange, but Small:
Platypuses weigh between 1 ½ and 5 ½ pounds, and are 26 to 39 inches long.",
"Separate Bills:
The Australian platypus is sometimes called the ‘duck-billed platypus’.
Its bill is nothing like a duck's though, which has a hard, bone-like bill.
A platypus’ bill is flexible and rubbery, and covered with a leathery skin.",
"Handy, Dandy Bill:
The male platypus uses its bill like a vegetable strainer.
How? It captures tiny aquatic animals, such as crayfish, worms, insects, snails and shrimps, and allows the water to fall out the sides of its bill.
It also stores food in its cheek pouches so that it can continuously hunt underwater.",
"The kings of self-control!
Platypuses can drop their heart rate from 200 beats to less than 10 beats per minute to conserve oxygen!",
"Life in the Wild:
The platypus has a life span of up to 17 years in captivity. In the wild, however, they can only live 13 years.
They require large quantities of food to survive, and eat up to 30% of their body weight every day.",
"Hairier than a polar bear:
The platypus has around 800 hairs per square millimeter of its body. Its fur is more dense than that of a polar bear!
The creatures have two layers of hair: a woolly undercoat and longer shiny guard fur, which works just like a wet suit to help keep them warm and dry in the water.",
"Take a dive!
The platypus is a diver of Olympic standards.
They dive for 20-40 seconds at a time during foraging, resting on the surface for only 10 seconds between dives.
They perform about 80 dives per hour!",
"Food Fiend:
With its duck bill and webbed feet, the platypus is a unique Australian animal which spends 12-13 hours a day foraging for food.",
"A throwback!
The platypus is often described as a ‘living fossil.’
These bizarre creatures are about the size of a domestic cat, but have legs that sprawl out from the sides of their body, so that they walk like a lizard.
They have fleshy duck bills, webbed feet, a double-coat of fur and a tail like a beaver.",
"One of a kind!
The platypus is the only Australian mammal that is poisonous.
Males have sharp poisonous spikes on their ankles which they can use to kill small animals, usually in self defense.
The venom will incapacitate a human, but is not fatal.",
"Got ESP?
The platypus uses its ‘sixth-sense’ to locate prey, rather than its eyes or ears.
The surface of its upper and lower bill contains hundreds of receptors, which respond to touch and produce tiny electric currents when they move in the water.
This helps them to navigate rocks and other obstacles when submerged, as well as detect small aquatic animals.",
"Put on your flippers!
The platypus’s webbed forefeet propel them through the water.
Their hind feet are also webbed but are usually folded back against their tail, unless they are being used for steering and as brakes in an emergency.",
"Why have a tail?
The tail of the platypus provides an energy reserve if food is scarce.
The main purpose of the tail is to store up to 50% of the animal’s body fat.
Researchers determine the physical condition of a platypus by the ‘squeeze test,’ which assesses the amount of fat in its tail.",
];