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.

From the brief glimpse I got, I'd say if anything the rat was blunter
than the usual town rat. I'm blaming this rat for having scratched in
a pot of potting mix where I've got some seeds sprouting (see other
thread on the 'tuba' climber), and that seems unusual for rattus rattus,
too.

Can anyone assure me that rats do transport their young on their back?

(I know that piggy-back is not the right spelling, but that's how most
people say it.)
--
John Savage (my news address is not valid for email)

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.

From the brief glimpse I got, I'd say if anything the rat was blunter
than the usual town rat. I'm blaming this rat for having scratched in
a pot of potting mix where I've got some seeds sprouting (see other
thread on the 'tuba' climber), and that seems unusual for rattus rattus,
too.

Can anyone assure me that rats do transport their young on their back?

(I know that piggy-back is not the right spelling, but that's how most
people say it.)

No, they don't! Rats keep their babies in a nest and when the kittens
are ready to go a-foraging, they go independently of Mum.

What you saw might have been a marsupial something-or-other? Small
Ring-Tail Possum? Bandicoot? Marsupial Rat? Antechinus or Dunnart or one
of those little fellows? How exciting! *Do* try and get another look
(and a pic, if you can)!

--
Trish {|:-}
Newcastle, Australia

g'day john,

usually the rodents develop burrows for their nests and that is where
the young stay until they can follow around or fend for themselves.
the action you described sounds more like a native type animal.

maybe phone your local evnvironment office or museum.

let us know the results.

len

snipped
--
happy gardening
'it works for me it could work for you,'

"in the end ya' gotta do what ya' gotta do" but consider others and the environment
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~gardenlen1/

my e/mail addies have spam filters you should know what to delete before you send.

G'day John

I have to agree with Trish and Len about Rattus Rattus, they do make a
nest for their babies and suspect your might have a native.

How about setting a trap that will catch them live, without injury.
This way you could examine and identify them at close range.

I'm not sure what is available on the market but some years ago I used
to have a 'possum' trap, that would catch the live possum by placing an
apple (or other fruit) on a hook attached to a door closing mechanism.
When the possum entered the cage to eat the apple the slightest movement
of the apple would in turn move the hook, which then released the door
from it's open position, thus preventing the animal from escaping. The
possum could then be relocated. Something along those lines would allow
you to observe the animal without any injury.

Would WIRES or NPWS have traps for loan or hire? Be interesting to find
what you have?

Bronwyn ;-)




len gardener wrote:
g'day john,

usually the rodents develop burrows for their nests and that is where
the young stay until they can follow around or fend for themselves.
the action you described sounds more like a native type animal.

maybe phone your local evnvironment office or museum.

let us know the results.

len

snipped

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.

Trish Brown writes:
No, they don't! Rats keep their babies in a nest and when the kittens
are ready to go a-foraging, they go independently of Mum.

What you saw might have been a marsupial something-or-other? Small
Ring-Tail Possum? Bandicoot? Marsupial Rat? Antechinus or Dunnart or one
of those little fellows? How exciting! *Do* try and get another look
(and a pic, if you can)!

Thanks for the reply, Trish.

This was not a ring tail nor a native water rat, as both of those have
a white tip to their tail, and this one did not.
--
John Savage (my news address is not valid for email)

len gardener writes:
usually the rodents develop burrows for their nests and that is where
the young stay until they can follow around or fend for themselves.

That was my understanding, too. But what about when the nest gets dug up
or comes under threat by a predator. I was wondering whether the mother
would move her young to a new location by piggy-backing them, or by
picking them up in her jaws?

It's possible that the animal I saw was on its way to a new location.

the action you described sounds more like a native type animal.

It could be the creature that has been digging tunnels into my "worm
farm" patch of garden. I can't imagine it has much chance of survival,
here in the middle of high-density living. The local cats might not
ever go hungry, but they are instinctive hunters.
--
John Savage (my news address is not valid for email)

John Savage wrote:

len gardener writes:

usually the rodents develop burrows for their nests and that is where
the young stay until they can follow around or fend for themselves.


That was my understanding, too. But what about when the nest gets dug up
or comes under threat by a predator. I was wondering whether the mother
would move her young to a new location by piggy-backing them, or by
picking them up in her jaws?

It's possible that the animal I saw was on its way to a new location.


the action you described sounds more like a native type animal.


It could be the creature that has been digging tunnels into my "worm
farm" patch of garden. I can't imagine it has much chance of survival,
here in the middle of high-density living. The local cats might not
ever go hungry, but they are instinctive hunters.

Mother rats and mice move their babies by picking them up in their jaws.
(And they usually pick the poor children up by some tender part such
as the face or a hindleg, causing much indignant squeaking!) I've never
known a rat or mouse to do the piggyback thing (I keep them as pets,
unnatural creature that I am! ;- Or, at least, I'm currently keeping
mice... it's been a long time since I had rats!) Oh and the wild ones
behave pretty much the same way as the domestic ones do, in case you
were wondering. The mothers make a nest of soft material and will move
the babies if they can, or completely abandon them if things get
extremely dire. But I've never heard of them piggybacking!

--
Trish {|:-}
Newcastle, Australia

Chookie writes:
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.

My impression was that it was too large for an antechinus. I looked at
google's images, and where it is shown alongside the human hand an
antechinus seems to be about the size of a mouse. The creature I saw
was more rat sized, and I think its tail was covered in short grey hair,
not concentric circles of rubber like the tail of rattus rattus.
--
John Savage (my news address is not valid for email)

g'day john,

could it have been a bandicoot?

i tend to think that a rodent would abandon the nest or carry them in
its teeth like trish said.

len

snipped
--
happy gardening
'it works for me it could work for you,'

"in the end ya' gotta do what ya' gotta do" but consider others and the environment
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~gardenlen1/

my e/mail addies have spam filters you should know what to delete before you send.

A Quoll maybe?
http://www.kidcyber.com.au/topics/quoll.htm