Australia has plenty of native rodents that are not the usual pest black or brown rats people think of.
A new identification guide from South Australia walks through how to tell protected native species apart from feral rats and mice, and why that matters under local wildlife laws.
The guide covers four key natives: the swamp rat, bush rat, rakali or water rat, and the greater stick-nest rat.
Bush rats in particular are one of the most widespread native rodents in the country. They have rounded heads, large ears and pinky-brown ringed tails, and they are usually shy compared with the bold, pesty black rat.
A handy tip from the guide: native rats usually have tails shorter than their bodies, while black and brown rats usually have tails much longer than their bodies.
Feral cats and foxes are a major threat to native rodents across Australia. These introduced predators hunt small ground-dwelling mammals, and without active control they can quickly wipe out local populations or push species to extinction.