Well, it’s not the first time your author has been wrong when it comes to natural facts. Bit it’s the most embarrassing by far. Remember the piece I wrote about platypuses? I would hope it still may linger in the memory, being all of two weeks ago . . . But be that as it may, and regardless of its many merits, it contained what you may describe as a cracker of a cock-up.

Not that I’m skirting the issue or anything, but a short re-cap is in order, purely because the mistake of which I speak comes at the culmination of the post — its crowning glory, if you will. The climax, the nub of the matter, the synthesis that resolves thesis and antithesis . . . the whole bloody point, really.

That was to marvel at how really, really cute platypus babies — or puggles, as we amateur naturalists call them — are. A point illustrated by the heatwarming image below.

Well, it turns out that the little puggle pictured above is in fact, a fake. It is not real — it is a facsimile, a simulacrum, a fictitious, fantastical forgery of a thing.

And your author, devoted to expounding the wonders of this unique creature, swallowed it, hook, line and metaphorical sinker. In fact, this is what real puggles looks like:

They’re cute too, right? Less anthropomorphised than the fake above, but rather adorable, I’m going to say. And don’t they look wonderfully soft and velvety too?

There is, of course, a long and storied history of fake animals of this kind. There’s the venerable Jackalope, the not-very-seductive stuffed mermaid, and whatever that other thing is supposed to be. Taxidermists can be pretty weird.

So here we go again — it was idiotic not to research the appearance of a real live puggle and I’m embarrassed. But the thing to do in these situations, as a wonderful fictional character once said, “Your only course is to crawl flat on your belly, roaring out Peccavi and beating your bosom.” Which you may not be able to see, but I am doing right now.

Here are some more real puggles to soften the blow.