Rakali pups are too cute to handle

By Australian Geographic November 10, 2020
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This is what a baby rakali looks like.

IT’S NOT every day you come across a teeny-tiny rakali pup, but today is your lucky day.

FNQ Exotic Haven shared photos of the female rakali pup after they rescued her from a driveway in Cairns, where she was being attacked by birds.

“Australia’s most adorable rodent,” they wrote on their official Facebook page. And the photos are, in fact, seriously cute.

Rakalis, otherwise known as water rats, are Australia’s otter-equivalent. They can be seen diving in and out of lakes and rivers in search of fish or just casually picking fights with platypuses.

But they’re not just cute and, at times, vicious. They’re also incredibly smart. Scientists recently found that rakalis are the only Australian animal that can safely eat toxic cane toads.

Basically, the rakalis had learnt to surgically remove the hearts and livers of the toads, avoiding all the poisonous bits.

This little girl has quite the life ahead of her.