Australia's native Bush Rat: Rattus fuscipes

[@Superkoolaid857]

Great video, thank you for the side by side comparison of the black rat and native rat, very helpful!

[@judyjack7517]

excellent video, my resident bush rats are often seen scurrying about in broad daylight, not at all shy.

[@codeewilson5544]

This is a really well commentated and structured video, this was useful to watch 👍🏻

[@possm1]

Thanks Codee ... spread the word!

[@TrippNBalz]

Very cute rat! The tiny ears and shorter tails are adorable!

[@deniseravenscroft9669]

Thank you for this excellent and valuable educational video. Such a help to so many who may be unaware we even have native rats in Australia. Much appreciated. Love the background audio. Sharing!

[@possm1]

Thanks Denise! Recently got some great night and day footage of the White-footed Dunnart, so I'll be doing a similar comparison exercise with that. Subscribe and stay tuned! You might also like 'The Pygmy, the Feathertail, the Bushfire & the Banksia' and 'Feathertail Glider Nest: How the smallest gliding mammal protects its home'.

[@renaeferguson3376]

Very informative!

[@cillakinross3875]

Lovely video; well done, Gavin

[@gafrers]

Wonderful as always

[@meredithfoley9062]

Wonderful video addressing that most common question 'is this a rat?'

[@ingebuchanan7517]

Thank you for the video, an excellent comparison.

[@possm1]

Thanks! Glad it was helpful. Do note however that there's a misidentification towards the end. What I ID as an Antechinus (Antechinus stuartii) is in fact the related White-footed Dunnart. These are very common in the area but at the time I made this I was barely aware of the species and took what I was seeing as the Antechinus, which is predominant further north. See my later video on the White-footed Dunnart!

[@texazwhyte1328]

excellent video, thanks, ive been trying to work out what we have....

[@monikasaringer1152]

Very informative thank you, i have just got night vision of a bandicoot in my yard & this other critter that looks like a rat but holds its tail up, hoping its not a common brown rat

[@possm1]

Well, as shown, the best diagnostic feature for black rats versus Bush Rat is, as shown, the tail length. Brown rats have a tail length slightly shorter than head-body and it's thick at the base. The Wiki article on Brown Rat is very good and includes illustration of the difference. I do have a bit of a soft spot for Brown Rats. When I was chief guide at the Australian Museum I kept a brown "fancy" one as an interpretive aid. Ben was on TV a couple of times and once shook paws with David Bowie! He's buried with all honours in the front garden.