In article ,
John Savage wrote:

Around midday as I opened the back door a rat that was on the steps
jumped off into a patch of mondo grass and froze there for a minute.
I could see a baby rat clutching onto the adult's back up near the neck.

Now, I've never heard of a rat carrying its young like that, though I
have seen native mammals doing it in documentaries. So, before I set out
some rat bait I'd like to confirm this is almost certainly a rat. I'd
hate to wipe out a colony of native mammals living in suburbia through
mistaken identity.

Could it be an antechinus? I understand they can still be found in suburbia,
but i don't know how they carry their young. Check with your nearest museum
or zoo.

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

"In Melbourne there is plenty of vigour and eagerness, but there is
nothing worth being eager or vigorous about."
Francis Adams, The Australians, 1893.