Water-rat aka Rakali

[Maurits Zwankhuizen <>]

My wife and I were just walking our dog by the lake when we saw a Rakali (the preferred and more respectable name for the Water-rat ). It was trying to get at the contents of a tied-up plastic bag but gave up and vanished into the water. It was too dark to see what was in the bag and I wasn't going to pick it up!

Maurits Zwankhuizen

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From: Philip Veerman <>
Sent: Friday, 15 July 2016 5:55 PM
To: 'canberrabirds chatline'
Subject: RE: [canberrabirds] Crace Pond Swamp Rat

 

I would think fairly obviously, yes. Though I’d give Con the benefit of the thinking it is a wrong word rather than a wrong identification.

 

From: Robin Hide [ Sent: Friday, 15 July, 2016 4:38 PM      To: Con Boekel; canberrabirds chatline
Subject: RE: [canberrabirds] Crace Pond Swamp Rat

 

Con,

isn’t that a Water Rat - (Hydromys chrysogaster)?

 

Robin

 

 

-----Original Message-----From: Con Boekel [ Sent: Friday, 15 July 2016 4:16 PM        To: canberrabirds chatline
Subject: [canberrabirds] Crace Pond Swamp Rat

 

A Swamp Rat can now be seen from time to time swimming around Crace Pond.

 

When the Coot see it on the surface, they follow it from a distance.

 

Also present this morning: Coot, Dusky Moorhen, Wood Duck (copulating yesterday), Non-Pacific Black Duck (quite a ferocious fight between two of them this morning), Purple Swamphen.

 

regards

 

Con