Rodent Id

stevensi

Hey Guys,

Saw a rodent by a lake today in Dublin. My first reaction was a rat and that's what it probably was however when it saw me it swam from the bank and then did a complete dive. Water was about 3 or 4 feet deep and I saw it go to the bottom but then lost it.

The only reason I'm not certain of the id was I've never seen a rat do that before. I've seen them on the surface but never dive. As I said probably a rat but that behavior seemed unusual. Any opinions?

Eddie B

I've seen it many times. Years ago we had a local dump and sewerage works beside each other. There was a stream running between them which was teaming with rats. We often walked along the stream as kids, and often spotted rats popping into the water when disturbed, some dived and swam underwater. We used to call them water rats, but they were simply your average Brown rat.

stevensi

Eddie B wrote: »

I've seen it many times. Years ago we had a local dump and sewerage works beside each other. There was a stream running between them which was teaming with rats. We often walked along the stream as kids, and often spotted rats popping into the water when disturbed, some dived and swam underwater. We used to call them water rats, but they were simply your average Brown rat.

Thanks for that. As I said rat jumped into my mind but when I saw it dive I was unsure. The only other species I thought of was water vole but we don't get those in Ireland I believe

jmkennedyie

stevensi wrote: »

Thanks for that. As I said rat jumped into my mind but when I saw it dive I was unsure. The only other species I thought of was water vole but we don't get those in Ireland I believe

No water vole here but we have bank vole. Not reached Dublin yet.

Eddie B

jmkennedyie wrote: »

No water vole here but we have bank vole. Not reached Dublin yet.

Found a dead one here in Tullamore two years ago.

OwlEye

Cats have caught plenty here in Kilkenny.

Capercaillie

OwlEye wrote: »

Cats have caught plenty here in Kilkenny.

Looks like bank vole.

OwlEye

Yep, it is a bank vole.

Count Down

This is a bank vole. Yours looks like a young rat or mouse. Note the rounded snout.

OwlEye

Attached are a sequence of fotos , a vole being rescued from a cat to be released back into the wild again. Agreed it might not resemble the picture you posted of a contented animal feeding away, but bear in mind that it was distressed after being mauled.The shape and position of the ears and the length of the tail (albeit a little difficult to see) are a bit of a giveaway.
The pictures were taken as quickly as possible so as not to distress the animal any further and forwarded on to Biodiversity Ireland for conformation and for their records.Hope that clears up any doubts.