Research into elusive rakali, or Australian water rat, prompts call for citizen scientists to log sightings

The rakali, known as the water rat or "Australian otter". (Supplied: Margie and Chris McClelland)

Emmalie Sanders "instantly fell in love" with the rakali — also known as the Australian water rat.

Ms Sanders, a PhD candidate from Charles Sturt University, said the animal, known for its elusiveness, inspired her latest research.

"I actually didn't know a thing about them until a few years ago," she said.

"They're quite adorable and shy, but very unique.

"Once I discovered more about them, I knew I had decided on my [research] topic."

Her latest paper, "Putting Rakali in the Spotlight", was proposed after Ms Sanders found very few population records of the species in recent years.

"There weren't many [records] even though they can be found across Australia," she said.

"You can find [rakali] anywhere with a permanent water body — so the creeks, dams, even irrigation channels.

"I think limited records have to do with its elusive nature."

Different approaches

Ms Sander's research paper aimed to identify the most effective method for detecting the semi-aquatic animal.

Her investigation was conducted across the Yanco Creek system in southern New South Wales.

"They're such mysterious creatures, so I knew I had to use a few different approaches," she said.

"I decided on nocturnal spotlight surveys, camera, and live trapping."

Over two months, Ms Sanders performed 30-minute spotlight surveys along the Yanco Creek system every night and morning.

She said the spotlight method was by far the most effective.

"It makes sense because that's when they usually feed and socialise," she said.

"It was so fun to watch them at night; they're very mischievous."

Push for public to log sightings

Ms Sanders hoped her study would increase public interest in the rakali and inspire people to log their own sightings.

"Not everyone can get out in the water, in the middle of the night, with a torch to find [rakali]," she said.

"But people can log sightings of them on online databases.

"The more records we have, the better their future will be."

Not-for-profit iNaturalist Australia, which describes itself as an online biodiversity citizen science platform, was one of Ms Sanders's suggestions for recording sightings.

Each record can be made with photography or sound recording and can be verified by a combination of users, naturalists, and artificial intelligence.

iNaturalist's recent records showed there were more than 1,200 submissions about the animal, made by more than 600 users.