Rare Pogonomys rat makes a cameo in Cairns

A sighting of one of Australia's rarest native rats in suburban Cairns has set mammal experts in a spin. The prehensile tailed-rat, also known as the Pogonomys, has been photographed climbing a tree at Centenary Lakes at Edge Hill.

The rare rat, which is characterised by its distinctive monkey-like tail, was only discovered in Australia in 1974, was dragged into a lodge by a cat at Lake Barrine on the Atherton Tableland.

Cairns wildlife enthusiast Brian Venables, who had been spotlighting with friend Hidetoshi Kudo at the lakes two weeks ago, said his friend took a photo of it immediately after spying it up a tree.

The rat has a tail which curls upwards to grip twigs when climbing, and also allowing it to hang from its tail. Little is known about the habits and distribution of the animal, with most of them found killed by cats.

The nocturnal rats have found in Kuranda, and also reported from James Cook University's Cairns campus and the Daintree lowlands.

Boguls take on rats in the City

Scientists from the University of Sydney are set to release 100 native Bogul rats in Sydney Harbour National Park, and North Head Sanctuary in Manly, to see how they compete against introduced black rats, which are considered pests.

The environmental benefits could be significant because the Boguls, also known as bush rats, or Rattus fuscipes, tend not to climb trees, and are less likely to disturb nesting birds or eat eggs than black rats.
Nor do they carry the potentially life-threatening lungworm disease, which can spread to pets, wildlife and people. They are also less likely to invade homes than black rats, preferring the bush.

A keen eye is required to distinguish between the two species, as they both have the same grey colouring.

University ecologist, Grainne Cleary, said the most obvious difference was the length of the tail.
''Pest black rats have tails that are much longer than their bodies, whereas Boguls have tails that are the same length as their bodies or even shorter," she said.

The similarities between the two species could be the reason for the disappearance of Bogul rats from Sydney more than a century ago. During an outbreak of bubonic plague, a bounty of sixpence - about $4 today - was offered for every rat killed.

The last confirmed sighting of a bush rat in Sydney was in 1901, and 110 years later the effort to bring back the Bogul has been supported by Taronga Zoo, the National Parks and Wildlife Service and Mosman Council.