Rats
Identification of small mammals from photos is uncertain. It helps to have multiple photos, preferably with a scale in all images, showing: the ratio of tail-length to body-length; the nature of the ears, including how far the ear lobe will reach, in relation to the eye, when the ear lobe is folded forward; the pads under the hind feet; the fur above and below the body, any markings on the head or face; and the scales and fur on the tail.
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Discussion
DonFletcher
wrote:
17 Mar 2025
Hi @Mira Do you have a photo of it to upload?
Sorry to say that if it is a rat in that location it will be 99% sure to be a Black/Roof/Ship Rat (Rattus rattus). (unless it was transported from far away). But a good photo(s) will tell us for sure. Moribund rats near settlement are victims of anti-coagulant rodenticides. Alive or dead, they are lethal to owls and other birds which eat them. If it is still alive the best thing is to pick it up in a towel or other thick cloth, humanely kill it, or get someone to do that for you, then dispose of the carcass in some way that animals cannot get it. Black Rats are in most of the Canberra houses built more than 30 years ago, especially if there are chooks kept anywhere nearby, if birds are fed or if there are compost heaps. But they are often undetected.
Sorry to say that if it is a rat in that location it will be 99% sure to be a Black/Roof/Ship Rat (Rattus rattus). (unless it was transported from far away). But a good photo(s) will tell us for sure. Moribund rats near settlement are victims of anti-coagulant rodenticides. Alive or dead, they are lethal to owls and other birds which eat them. If it is still alive the best thing is to pick it up in a towel or other thick cloth, humanely kill it, or get someone to do that for you, then dispose of the carcass in some way that animals cannot get it. Black Rats are in most of the Canberra houses built more than 30 years ago, especially if there are chooks kept anywhere nearby, if birds are fed or if there are compost heaps. But they are often undetected.
Rattus rattus
yellowboxwoodland
wrote:
15 Mar 2025
They are screen shots from video taken by voopeak solar integrated hunting camera tc08 bought on Amazon.
Thanks for the advice re poison.
Thanks for the advice re poison.
Rattus rattus
DonFletcher
wrote:
15 Mar 2025
Hi @yellowboxwoodland, Nice sharp images, I can even see guard hairs. What make and model of trail camera took these photos?
At the risk of telling what you already know, there is not necessarily any need to take action against Black Rats. They are widespread in urban and many bush areas. If action is taken, it is necessary to be careful, especially in a bushy place like yours. Our regulators (APVMA) have let us down in that the most widely used rodent control methods are a real threat to wildlife, especially owls and other birds. Please dont bait with '2nd generation' anticoagulants such as Brodifacoum. If you bait at all, only use Warfarin. Any moribund animals or carcasses are toxic to birds so dispose of them where wildlife cannot get them. The better solutions are like the one illustrated in the photo, e.g. wherever possible make things inaccessible to rodents (well sealed door) in preference to killing them, and to some degree accept them. They are probably present in most older houses but the human residents are mostly unaware of them.
At the risk of telling what you already know, there is not necessarily any need to take action against Black Rats. They are widespread in urban and many bush areas. If action is taken, it is necessary to be careful, especially in a bushy place like yours. Our regulators (APVMA) have let us down in that the most widely used rodent control methods are a real threat to wildlife, especially owls and other birds. Please dont bait with '2nd generation' anticoagulants such as Brodifacoum. If you bait at all, only use Warfarin. Any moribund animals or carcasses are toxic to birds so dispose of them where wildlife cannot get them. The better solutions are like the one illustrated in the photo, e.g. wherever possible make things inaccessible to rodents (well sealed door) in preference to killing them, and to some degree accept them. They are probably present in most older houses but the human residents are mostly unaware of them.
Rattus rattus
KellyP
wrote:
6 Mar 2025
Hi @DonFletcher - thanks for your helpful response. I guess its possible they are juvenile Rattus rattus, but they don't look or behave like baby rats (my husband concurs) - but if they continue to hang around I will try to get more picks/video to see if I can get the underside of the rear feet and also see if they get bigger. When we were still feeding parrots (I know, not good, we don't do it now), the same rodents would come down from our trees and eat in the early evening - they looked the same as these ones vs the real rats we sometimes get in the shed.
Rattus rattus
DonFletcher
wrote:
5 Mar 2025
Hi @KellyP, thank you for the record. Did you consider juvenile Rattus rattus?
It would be lovely indeed to find a native species in a Canberra garden but to convince a moderator that a Rattus in the Canberra suburbs is a native species you would need very strong evidence. I think it would be the first ever. Mastacomys has very specific habitat requirements and has not been recorded in lowland areas (except during the last ice age). Rattus fuscipes does not penetrate suburbs anywhere, and must have disappeared long ago from the ACT lowands. If the video gives a lateral view or a look at the pads on the underside of the rear feet it could help with ID but Nature Mapper only accepts stills.
It would be lovely indeed to find a native species in a Canberra garden but to convince a moderator that a Rattus in the Canberra suburbs is a native species you would need very strong evidence. I think it would be the first ever. Mastacomys has very specific habitat requirements and has not been recorded in lowland areas (except during the last ice age). Rattus fuscipes does not penetrate suburbs anywhere, and must have disappeared long ago from the ACT lowands. If the video gives a lateral view or a look at the pads on the underside of the rear feet it could help with ID but Nature Mapper only accepts stills.
Rattus rattus
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