B8
THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2021
© 2021 by Vicki Whiting, Editor Jeff Schinkel, Graphics Vol. 37, No. 49
Mystery Animal Riddle: What Am I?
I have a bill and webbed
feet like a duck.
I lay eggs like a bird
or a reptile.
Mothers of my breed
feed our babies with milk
like a mammal.
I have fur like other
mammals and a flat tail
like a beaver.
1792 MARINE DR • ASTORIA
576
31st Street
Astoria
503-325-2250
Circle every other letter to
discover the mystery animal:
R D B U LC N K
PBJIMLKLDE
R D T P S LVA B T
WYCPHUJS
Great
Ocean
Da Yang
Seafoods LTD.
Dinner
Dive
Replace these missing words.
BILL:
A platypus is
the only mammal
with a bill. The bill is
covered with skin
that is hairless and
moist. It has no
teeth.
FRONT FEET:
A platypus swims using
its front feet, but not its
back feet. When it gets out
of the water, the platypus
can roll back its webbed
front feet and claws pop
out to make it easier to
walk on land.
Use the code to discover
more platypus facts!
= wild
= food
= venom
= reptiles
= dinosaurs
= Australia
= puggle
= paddle
= Africa
BACK FEET:
The male platypus is one of
the world’s few venomous
mammals! He has sharp stingers on
the heels of his hind feet. With these
stingers, the male platypus can
sting a foe with a strong venom
that doesn’t kill but does
cause a lot of pain.
TAIL:
The platypus uses its
tail to steer through
the water. It also
stores fat for when
food is scarce or
when the water is
very cold.
Platypuses are
long-lived, surviving
20 years or more in
captivity and up to
12 years in the
The ____________ on its bill
close underwater and the
animal can stay under for up to
two ____________ as it
searches for food.
The mix of gravel and under-
water critters is stored in cheek
____________. The platypus
__________ to the surface and
mashes the material in its
pouches. It has no _________,
so the bits of gravel help to
“chew” their meal.
The Commonwealth of Australia
reveres this remarkable mammal so
much that it honors the platypus
with a place on its 20-cent coin.
A baby platypus is
known as a
A platypus is a ___________
feeder. It ____________ up
insects, worms, and shellfish in
its bill along with bits of gravel
from the bottom of streams
and ___________.
A platypus spends
10 to 12 hours each
night underwater
looking for
A platypus spends
most of its life alone.
But a group of
platypuses is
called a
2158 Exchange St. | Suite 206
Astoria | 503-338-6230
1725 N. Roosevelt Drive
Suite B | Seaside
503-738-3425
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Income Tax Preparation
762 Avenue G • Seaside, OR 97138
503-738-3480
WARRENTON
861-3252
1167 SE Marlin
SEASIDE
738-8243
2155 S. Roosevelt
TIRE
McCALL CENTER
Platypuses can only
be found in
Scientists have
discovered evidence
that shows that they
first evolved more
than 112 million
years ago,
long before the
extinction of the
PROVIDING SAFE PASSAGE SINCE 1846
HAMPTON
Picture
Riddles
Create “What Am I”
LUMBER MILLS
503.325.0411
riddles for pictures in
the newspaper. Share
your riddle with a pal
and see if they can
guess which photo
you were describing.
Take turns!
AND
TOWING
34747 Hwy 101 Bus.
ASTORIA
Standards Link: Write
descriptively.
TECHNOLOGY
SOLUTIONS
for home users and
small business
77 11th Street, Suite H
Astoria | 503-325-2300
A mammal that hatches from eggs?
The platypus is one of two kinds of mammals
that lay eggs. The other is the spiny anteater
or echidna.
How many
platypus eggs do
you see here?
Mother platypus lays her eggs inside
a chamber and curls up with her eggs
for about 10 to 12 days. This is a time
when she really needs that fat stored
in her tail!
When the baby platypus hatches,
it is about the size of a lima bean.
Baby platypuses stay in the
nursery chamber for the first
three or four months of life.
Like other mammals they drink
their mother’s milk.
UNDERWATER
VENOMOUS
PLATYPUS
R E T A W R E D N U
POUCHES
B B A B S G G E P V
MAMMAL
E C L A W S Y L O E
BILLED
GRAVEL
A L T A I L A L U N
CLAWS
N I E C M T M I C O
BEAN
K M A V Y M E B H M
DUCK
L C I P A L A L E O
WALK
A D U L P R L M S U
EGGS
MEAL
W S G D K G G L E S
TAIL
Standards Link: Letter sequencing. Recognize identical
MILK
words. Skim and scan reading. Recall spelling patterns.
ASTORIA | 503-556-0410
Clatsop County
FAIR & EXPO
92937 Walluski Loop | Astoria
503-325-4600
325 Marlin Avenue
WARRENTON
503-861-1621
CLATSOP
BEHAVIORAL
HEALTHCARE
65 N. Hwy 101
Suite 204
Warrenton
503-325-5722
423 GATEWAY AVE. • ASTORIA | 503-325-0761
Newspaper Creatures
T
C
Look through the classified section of the
newspaper for descriptions of houses for sale.
Write a “House for Sale” ad that would
appeal to a platypus and their family.
1033 Commercial Street
Astoria, Oregon 97103
(503) 325-5620
Premium
ANSWER: Flatipus!
Standards Link: Write for a variety of audiences.
Home Furnishings
ADJUSTABLEBEDS
ASTORIA • 503-325-1974
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• Chinook Marine
Repair Shop
• Randall Lees
Flooring America
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Bureau
Thankyou Teri Carpenter
NORTHWEST
READY MIX
950 Olney Ave • Astoria
503-325-3562
PLUMBING
Commercial & Residential 503-325-5180
Quality Work at Affordable Rates
503-739-7145
712 S. Holladay
Seaside, Oregon
2230 EXCHANGE ST. | ASTORIA | 503-325-9906
85 W Marine Dr Astoria
2315 N Roosevelt Dr Seaside
1771 SE Ensign Ln Warrenton
www.tlcfcu.org • 503.842.7523
www.jjelectricservice.com
Quality Construction from
Design to Finish
1650 SE Ensign Lane
WARRENTON
Morgan Civil
Engineering
503-440-2827
503-861-9999
PO Box 358 • Manzanita
503-368-6186