Glenelg Hopkins CMA to install 'Platycam' at Hamilton's Grange Burn in May

The 'Platycam' is the brainchild of the Glenelg Hopkins Catchment Management Authority and will be installed at Hamilton's Grange Burn waterway in May.

Glenelg Hopkins CMA chief executive officer Adam Bester said the river was known to be home to about five to 10 of the mysterious marsupials.

Conservation staff hope the new installation will give people across the world the same opportunity to see the threatened species in its natural habitat.

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"We thought putting the Platycam there would basically enable all people across the world to see platypus live," Mr Bester said.

"They're a threatened species and there are some things we need to do to try and create natural habitat to protect the platypus.

"It's a bit of a community awareness project - if people appreciate the platypus, they're more likely to go out and do something to help them as well."

He said the camera was just one component of a $250,000 state government investment into conservation, which would also include creating more natural habitat in the area.

"Part of this project will also be putting more habitat in the water," he said.

"They need some good feeding habitat but also they need good banks because they need to burrow. We need to make sure banks are stable so that means making sure stock don't make their way down and trample it."

"We're also installing some interpretation signage and a big carving of a platypus from a dead tree and that will be plonked on the side of the river with some signs talking about the importance of the platypus, which will also be a good engagement piece."

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