Why We Need to Save Australia’s Extraordinary Rodents
Disgusting rodents. It’s so easy to dismiss all of their kind as pests.
They co-habit with humans and pester us with their nasty habits. We are horrified with their creepy footsteps, dreadful bites, and the diseases they carry around and leave behind. They have become our worst nightmares.
We invent all poisons and traps possible just to eliminate them in our dwelling. But would you believe that not all rats are of the same blood? Some are absolutely not a danger to our lives. In fact, this kind of rodents unique in Australia is in danger of extinction.
The Golden-Backed Tree-Rats: Australia’s Native Rodents
It’s about time you meet the golden-backed tree-rats - Australia’s remarkable yet misunderstood rodents.
This little-known native Australian rat has huge dark eyes, white feet, chestnut-gold stripe fur along its back, and a massively lengthy tail, the end of which looks slightly like white paint brush of fur.
Instead of ransacking our houses for food and shelter, these tree-rats peacefully seek refuge in the hollows of trees, woven nests, as well as rocky outcrops. They live on a diet of seeds, fruits, grass as well as leaves.
Your garbage bin is the last thing to attract them.
The Non-Pest, Uniquely Australian Rats are Under Threat
Golden-backed tree-rats are among the country’s most threatened species. If these rodents were a bane to our society, we would wish them gone. But they are not.
As a part of Australia’s rich biodiversity, they ought to survive.These fascinatingly nimble creatures are found nowhere else in the world. Marsupials are getting all the attention for being adorable. But the vanishing small to medium mammals such as these tree-dwelling rats are the ones in dire need of saving from the brink of extinction.
Currently, these native Australian rats are threatened by feral cats that prey on them and hot fires that destroy their habitat. Efforts have been made to avoid such fires but curbing the staggering population of feral cats is going to be a long battle.
What’s in It For us If We Save These Endemic Rats?
According to ecological studies, the wider the range of species in an ecosystem, the more stable and resilient it is. A 300-gram tree-rat might be small but it plays an important role in the ecosystem where it belongs to. Although tree-rats are neither directly useful nor baneful to us, we know from science that they serve a purpose in the ecosystem.
As what the biologist, Rosemary Hohnen, said, Australia’s wildlife is important in its own right. It’s our duty to preserve its beauty and diversity.
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