A man stole a platypus from its habitat and took it on a tour of an Australian town, police say. They still can't find the animal.

• A man stole a platypus from its habitat and took it on a tour of an Australian town, police said.
• Authorities said the man released the animal in a river but they can't locate it, the BBC reported.

An Australian man was charged with stealing a platypus from its wild habitat and taking the animal on a tour of a Queensland town, local police said.

The suspect, a 26-year-old man, grabbed the platypus from a river and carried it onto a public train on Tuesday morning, BBC News reported. Queensland Police shared surveillance images of the man and an accompanying woman boarding the train around 11 a.m.

"Two people were observed boarding a train at Morayfield Station with the animal wrapped in a towel, patting it and showing it to fellow commuters, it's believed the pair were travelling toward Caboolture," the police update read.

The couple took the platypus on a tour through various shops and public spaces, the BBC reported. The man showed the animal off, allowed people to pat it, and then released it into a river, police told the BBC.

Police asked the public for any news on the platypus on Wednesday, requesting information on the identity and location of the couple as well as the return of the platypus.

"The animal may become sick, be diseased or die the longer is it out of the wild and should not be fed or introduced to a new environment," the update said.

Police identified the man and woman but haven't been able to locate the platypus, the BBC reported.

The suspect could face a fine up to 431,250 Australian dollars, police said. That's around $288,000.

Platypuses are endemic to Australia, according to the Australian Museum, and have a protected status, meaning they're not endangered but "near threatened."

"Taking a platypus from the wild is not only illegal, but it can be dangerous for both the displaced animal and the person involved if the platypus is male as they have venomous spurs," police said, according to the BBC.

Platypuses are a unique animal — one of only two species of mammals to lay eggs. The Australian Museum said they are "largely a solitary animal" and live in freshwater systems, keeping a relatively low profile.