Platypus Guardian, The (ATOM Study Guide)

When urban mountain biker Peter Walsh stumbles across a bizarre creature living in the heart of the city his life is about to change forever. From a personal low after a medical diagnosis, he develops a fresh connection with nature, gradually forming a bond with an animal he names Zoom: an egg-laying, duck-billed, venom-spined, furry-coated, underwater mammal otherwise known as a platypus.

Zoom takes Pete on an upriver journey of discovery, deeper into the world of a species that everyone’s heard of but few have ever seen. Along the way, Pete films platypus behaviour never before captured on camera and meets wildlife biologists unveiling new insights into the secret life of an animal that’s been around since the time of the dinosaurs.

The Platypus Guardian is a universal story celebrating the urban wildlife often hidden under our noses and unravelling mysteries of one of the world’s weirdest animals.

Curriculum Links:

The Platypus Guardian is suitable for upper primary and lower secondary students. It is particularly relevant to the Science curriculum in the areas of:

• Biological Sciences
• Science as a Human Endeavour
• HASS (Geography)

The film also supports the development of General Capabilities (Personal and Social Capability and Ethical Understanding).