Lake Wendouree's population of rakali are facing increasing threat because of their cuteness and growing popularity.
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The otter-like native water rats are gaining fans because of their cuteness.
"People who do see them frequently do fall in love with them quickly ... but there are some problems associated with that," said rakali expert Geoff Williams who will give a presentation in Ballarat next week about the rakali and the threats they face.
Mr Williams said people had started to try to pat and feed the rakali at Lake Wendouree, which leads to them getting used to people, encourages population numbers to grow faster than normal, and the food itself tended not to be as nutritious as wild food.
And if people stop feeding animals that are used to a hand-out, they can become aggressive in demanding food.
"Once they get used to it they see every person passing by as someone with treats for them and if they don't get something they can get bitey. There have been incidents where a person has been bitten on the boot, or on the foot."
Some people assume the rakali are actually introduced black or brown rats and set traps or put out rat bait to kill them.
"We also see quite a few incidents of road kill in the area. That may not be preventable, but it may also be that when people see the animal on road they think it is a rat and don't slow down."
Mr Williams said the proposed lake lighting might also impact the rakali, who are mostly nocturnal but are often seen during the day, making them more visible to predators like foxes.
Rakali are found in waterways across the region, with one recent sighting in Victoria Park the first recorded there.
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Mr Williams, who has been director of the Australian Platypus Conservancy researching platypus and rakali numbers for more than 20 years, said Lake Wendouree was probably the best place in Victoria, and one of the best places in Australia to see the species. They are spotted regularly all around the lake, especially in the Fairyland area.
"We tell people don't even think of them as a rodent at all, but think of them as the Australian equivalent of the otter because that's what they are in the ecological niche they fill. They are the top aquatic carnivorous mammal and share many otter-like features."
After Mr Williams' presentation at the Federation University's Field Studies Centre on Gillies Street on Tuesday September 6 at 7pm, there will be a meeting to discuss the formation of a "Friends of the Rakali" group to help address some of the issues they face, to lobby for signage, push for more education for people not to feed them and other issues.
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