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Rikki raises profile of native rakali 2005-3-21

Rikki raises profile of native rakali

March 21 2005

Country News

It might be a water rat to some people but it's a rakali and a native Australian to the Benalla District Environment Group.

The humble water rat's cause has been taken up by the group which wants to learn more about its activities in the north and north-east of the state.

"It's not a nasty little rodent that some people might think," chair Christine Holmes said last week.

About 65 people attended a public meeting to hear about the rat's habits, background and its preferred environment.

Primarily the environmental group is interested in waterway health and Ms Holmes said it was chosen as an iconic species that lives in waterways and is affected by waterway health.

Benalla District Environment Group (BDEG) instigated this project and with the assistance of Landcare facilitator Trevor Verlin and a dedicated committee, they are up and running.

"We were successful in receiving funding through the Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority," Ms Holmes said.

This funding is from the Victorian Government through the Protecting and Repairing Our Water Resources initiative and forms part of a larger project to improve flow and habitat in the Broken River.

Rakali is an Aboriginal word for the rat, although its scientific name is Hydromys Chrysogaster.

DSE representative Dr Jenny Wilson said the rakali were carnivorous, eating fish, yabbies, molluscs, eggs, young birds and grass.

Environmental research officer with the Bayside City Council, Amy Weir, told the people at the launch the rakali was the first rodent to be described in Australia in 1804.

It was hunted for its fur skin until 1950, but is now protected under the Wild Life Act.

Ms Holmes said their longterm goals were to establish an ongoing working group, to provide further opportunity through community activities to raise awareness about the impacts of living around an urban waterway and develop positive changes towards a healthier waterway habitat in the Benalla urban environs.

Anyone interested in this project can phone Ms Holmes on 5762 5638.

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