It's too cute to be a rat!
Image courtesy Lainie Peltohaka
Don't bet on it!
Believe it or not, the cute little furry face peering out of the greenery belongs to a rat, and an introduced Black Rat Rattus rattus at that.
As the photograph implies, Black Rats are quite at home living next to humans: this is clearly evident in other common names applied to Rattus rattus — Roof Rat, House Rat and Ship Rat. Originally native to Asia, Black Rats have exploited this tolerance of humans to spread worldwide, by stowing away on ships and in cargo. They now thrive in cities, towns, farms and disturbed bushland around the world.
In contrast, Australia's native rats, such as the Swamp Rat Rattus lutreolus, Bush Rat Rattus fuscipes or Pale Field Rat Rattus tunneyi, are shy animals that prefer more natural habitats.
Adult Black Rats grow to about 20 cm (head-body length) and weigh up to 300g. They have a sleek smooth coat that ranges in colour from black or charcoal grey to light brown or light grey above and cream or white below. Many individuals are steel grey with white bellies.
Black Rats have large, thin, bare ears; a round face and pointed nose. The tail is sparsely haired, scaly and much longer than the length of head and body. [Identification tip: the tails of native rats are shorter than or only as long as their head and body lengths.]
The Black Rat that you see here was photographed visiting a window box to feed on the fragrant and sweet flowers of garden irises. It is not unusual to see them feeding alongside Common Brushtail Possums Trichosurus vulpecula in parks and gardens after dark.