Tier3Hero">

A rakali scampers along waterside rocks and dives into a hole between the rocks

A distinct white tail tip can make rakali easy to spot. Video: Cory Young, creator of Rakali Awareness Day

A rakali swims in open water and dives down below the surface

Many people often spot the "furry splash" of rakali in the water. Video: Santiago

A rakali swimming along the edge of a fenced area in muddy brown water

The places rakali are seen are often far from pristine. Video: Andrea from Frankston South

A rakali plays on a rock on the shoreline before jumping into the water to swim

Fisherman often tell stories of rakali stealing their fish. Video: Davis from Canberra

1 / 4

Protecting our urban waterways

The places people see rakali are often far from pristine – rocky edges, concrete drains, artificial lakes.

But just because a rakali can rifle through litter-traps to scavenge a tasty treat or ambush one of the city’s many invasive black rats, doesn’t mean they should have to.

We’d much prefer to see rakali plucking crayfish from a clean riverbed and foraging frogs from between the reeds rather than dodging floating plastic bags.

There are so many ways we can better care for our urban waterways and the wildlife that depend on them.

When the City of Melbourne’s floating wetland project reinstated natural vegetation and feeding platforms to the Birrarung-Yarra River, rakali were the first species to jump aboard.

And the things we do on land matter too.

A busy city street glowing red in sunset heat

Map of the Month

These maps tell us we need to cool our sweltering streets

Water sensitive urban designs like raingardens and bioswales help slow the flow of dirty stormwater into our rivers.

We can all do our bit by making sure litter ends up in the bin rather than our storm drain. A little can go a long way – and both rakali lovers and the rakali themselves will thank you for it.

Map of the Month is a project from the University of Melbourne (Melbourne Centre for Cities, Melbourne Data Analytics Platform and Pursuit) using maps to spark important policy conversations across metropolitan Melbourne. Academics, community leaders and government representatives from across Melbourne contribute to the maps and accompanying stories.

The maps were produced by Dr Emily Fitzgerald and Dr Noel Faux using data from Atlas of Living Australia, Vicmap Hydro and use of the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS)-enabled Australian Urban Research Infrastructure Network (AURIN) Digital Infrastructure to access DSpark data.

Thank you also to everyone who sent in their rakali stories, sightings and videos.

This article was first published on Pursuit. Read the original article.

Australia's elusive rakali is hiding and thriving in Melbourne's waterways

University of Melbourne Researchers