Rattus rattus

Black Rat at Molonglo River Reserve

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Identification history

Rattus rattus	25 Nov 2023	DonFletcher
Rattus rattus	24 Nov 2023	CarbonAI
Rattus rattus	24 Nov 2023	SteveBorkowskis

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4 comments

DonFletcher wrote:

25 Nov 2023

Hi Steve, I think your ID is correct (besides, no other terrestrial rat species is likely at that location) but if there is a photo showing the whole body and tail, or just one of the tail, could you post them too please?

DonFletcher wrote:

25 Nov 2023

Steve and I had a separate communication about the whole body image. Apparently the rat was hit by an agricultural slasher and parts were chopped off, i.e. the whole animal image is gory to some degree. I suggested he post it anyway because that sort of thing is just part of the natural world (all animals injure other animals) and is an unavoidable element of zoology. The current and increasing trend to hide people from such images is both a symptom of our increasing detachment from nature and part of the cause of that disconnect. It should be resisted.

SteveBorkowskis wrote:

25 Nov 2023

Hi Don, I’ve added an additional photo on your recommendation, I agree with your viewpoint but I’m also conscious that others may be upset seeing such things, and I thought perhaps ID might be achievable without that photo. Although it still looks alive in that photo is it just recently deceased and tangled and propped up with woody debris blackberry canes and St. John’s wort stems etc. Normally they run away but for whatever reason this one must have been disoriented and went in the wrong direction.

DonFletcher wrote:

25 Nov 2023

Thank you. Definitely not the usual kind of dead rat photo.

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