Many people go their whole lives without seeing a platypus in the wild. We just saw four in one night

One of two juvenile platypuses discovered in the Royal national park south of Sydney. Photograph: Jessica Hromas/The Guardian

Hunting platypuses takes patience. On Thursday afternoon, I headed into the Royal national park, south of Sydney, with researchers who had reintroduced a small population of the elusive monotremes two years ago.

There was a big net and torches – and our dinner. It could be a long wait.