Pacific rat
Background
The pacific rat originated in Southeast Asia and has established wild populations on:
- Australian offshore islands
- islands in Asia and the South Pacific.
Pacific rats are often associated with human settlement and may accidentally be transported to Australia by sea. They are now the 3rd most widespread rat behind the black rat and the Norwegian rat.
It is illegal to keep, transport, sell or release pacific rats in South Australia under the Landscape South Australia Act 2019.
Impacts
Pacific rats are a serious pest that:
- damage fruit in commercial orchards and home gardens
- damage crops
- damage native plants
- compete with native species
- predate on native species.
Identification
The pacific rat has reddish-brown to grey-brown fur, with light grey tips to the belly fur. It has a pointed nose and naked ears.
The dark tail is about the same length as the body, with short hairs on the upper surface, and narrow rings of scales.
Some rodent species in South Australia look similar to the pacific rat, such as:
- the native bush rat
- the swamp rat
- the introduced black rat
- the Norway (brown) rat.
The Pacific rat has reddish-brown to grey brown fur, with light grey tips to the belly fur. The dark tail is about the same length as the body, with short hairs on the upper surface, and with narrow rings of scales. The rat has a pointed nose and naked ears.
Report pacific rats
The pacific rat has not yet become established in South Australia. To make sure this doesn’t happen report all suspected sightings.
