Hanging out with rakali

In September, Matt and I did a road trip that included a visit to Ballarat, Victoria. I had the good fortune to spot SIX rakali at Lake Wendouree in Ballarat. They are agile in the water (like little otters) and nimble on land, so too quick to capture good pics. [Featured photo by David Cook/Flickr] Still, I was filled with giddy glee at seeing these gorgeous native animals for the first time.

So - in full disclosure, after seeing them up close - it turns out the fleeting glimpse of the 'rakali' I'd seen near the Parramatta River when I began this writing project in 2019 was more likely a B-Lister Rodent. 😬😂 Best not to dwell on that though!

It was terrific to meet Lissa and Virginia who run the Lake Wendouree Rakali Monitoring Project (Facebook: Rakali of Ballarat) under the guidance of the Australian Platypus Conservancy. They - along with a group of fellow citizen scientists - conduct a quarterly count of rakali and dusk and dawn, as well as random observations. A lot of local people seem fans of these sweet critters.

Photo of rakali by David Cook/Flickr