Two Platypus born at Healesville Sanctuary in October finally have new names - and a new home.

Waddirrang and Burrun have been named to honour the Wurundjeri people whose lands encompass the area where Healesville Sanctuary is today.

The baby girl, Waddirrang (pronounced “Woterang”), means platypus and the baby boy, Burrun, means dusk or night light.

Names for the newest members of the Zoos Victoria family were shortlisted then chosen from the hundreds of imaginative entries received from the public.

Waddirrang and Burrun are both second generation captive bred Platypus – the first to be bred anywhere in the world. As they are now fully developed, keepers have separated them from mother Binarri to prepare her for the mating season around August. 

Over the weekend, Waddirrang and Burrun were taken from their nesting pond and successfully introduced to a new home within the Sanctuary.  Soon they will join the Platypus Breeding Program as part of the Australian Regional Association of Zoological Parks and Aquaria (ARAZPA) captive management program where they will be sent to other zoos that have platypus facilities.

Visitors are encouraged to come and meet the Platypus before they leave us.