BBC SOLVES WINSTON CHURCHILL'S PLATYPUS MYSTERY: DIED FROM EXCESSIVE HEAT DURING JOURNEY FROM AUSTRALIA

In 1943, a platypus, a secret gift from Australia to Winston Churchill, perished en route. Long attributed to a bombing, the BBC now reveals the true cause: heat.

In 1943, a ship set sail from Australia to secretly transport a platypus as a gift for the then British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill.

With this gift, named after its future owner, Australia desperately sought to curry favor with Great Britain as World War II expanded into the Pacific and reached its shores. Unfortunately, the animal died during transport.

A diplomatic incident was feared. At the time, the blame was placed on shock caused by a German submarine bombing the ship it was traveling on.

The truth, the BBC explains today, was quite different and only recently emerged: the animal was killed by heat.

Churchill was an avid collector of exotic animals, the BBC recalls, and had repeatedly expressed a desire to own a platypus. The Australian Foreign Minister, H.V. 'Doc' Evatt, had therefore decided to send him a specimen, but in secret because the export of the species was prohibited. A special transport facility was prepared for the egg-laying mammal, along with a menu of 50,000 worms and duck egg custard. An attendant was hired to care for it during the 45-day journey. But despite the effort, the little animal died en route.

The truth about its death was recently discovered by a Monash University PhD student, Harrison Croft, and a team from the University of Sydney. The key to the mysterious death was found in the diary of the platypus's caretaker. As the ship crossed the equator for about a week, temperatures had risen well above 27 degrees Celsius. This temperature is now known to be the safety threshold for platypus travel. Sadly, it was the excessive heat that proved fatal to the animal.