In 1943, Australia tried to win Winston Churchill's favor with a unique wartime gift: a live platypus, named Winston, shipped for 45 days across oceans to London in a custom habitat with 50,000 worms to feed him. The "rare monotreme" was meant to boost diplomatic ties as World War II raged—Churchill was a noted lover of exotic animals—but days before arrival, Winston was found dead in his "platypusary," reports the BBC . They read that the platypus' food ration had dwindled due to a worm die-off, but more crucially determined Winston endured prolonged heat above the threshold of about 80 degrees, after which things get unsafe for his species.
Author: Kate Seamons with Newser.AI
Published at: 2025-08-09 20:31:00
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