George Vanis, aged 13 of Shaker Heights, Ohio, for his question:

Is a duckbilled platypus an animal or a, bird?

Birds belong to one of the huge tribes that make up the animal kingdom. Fishes belong to another, Mammals belong to another, In one sense, all of them are animals, They are alive and they are not plants, However, we often use the word animal to describe the four‑footed furry creatures that inhabit the earth,

These animals are the mammals, They have fur coats, they give birth to live babies and they feed their babies on mothers milk. In this sense, the platypus is an animal. True, he seems to be made from pieces left over from other animals: He has a coat like an otter's and a tail like a beaver's. Parts of him even seem to be borrowed from the bird tribe. He has webbed feet like the goose, He has a bill somewhat like that of a duck, His bill, however is not hard and rigid. It is more like tough leather.

It is the fur coat and the fact that Mrs,, Platypus nurses her babies that rates the platypus as a mammal animal.