Is not a rat, is hamster.
 

A local turned up last night to check out the noise I was making in the shed.
Is not a rat, is Bandicoot.
Navite marsupial that is one of several in my back yard.
Eats bugs, spiders, frogs, lizards and pizza.
Harmless unless you feed them, then they become worse than kids on sugar.

I'll trade you a few raccoons, skunks and ground hogs. The first ones are urban bandits. The second ones are hard of hearing, short sighted and have a pungent smell. The last ones eat vegetation but dig burrows that undermine woodpiles and sheds. None are worth eating.

PS How about a porcupine? Eats tree bark and has quills. Not worth taming, make noisy cat-like mewing sounds and get cranky when confronted. Labrador Retrievers don't have the right genes to avoid these guys.

As this is becoming a contest of sorts, and because New Zealand doesn't have any native mammals, (other than a bat) I am forced to resort to this:
We have the Kiwi, that eats, roots, shoots, and leaves.
(actually they eat worms)

On a more serious note, thanks Wayne for posting. I've never seen one, and someones personal photo is that little step closer than books and tele.
You have also kept with the theme with the M.V. in the background.
I imagine the Bandicoot is closer related to a Roo than the Rat?. I will go see Mr Google.

Does size win???
 

Yesterday morning .... our backyard.

Female Moose (for you Aussies, Kiwis and Poms....)

Mike C

If size is the deciding factor you are the winner Mike. Those things are around the size of a horse.
As the Scotsman said,"If that's a moose, what are yer cats like?"

Dave

huge lizards
 

Before I moved here, I'd never seen a Goanna or Lace monitor . During the Summer months they patrol along the fences searching for rabbits . Some of them are over 4 feet long . I witnessed one go down a rabbit warren and emerge with a rabbit in its mouth , the rabbit dissappeared down its throat . They usually climb a tree when a human approaches but sometimes they just look at you :confused They have a venom in their mouth , only recently discovered . Mike

I'll see your porcupine and raise you an echidna Terry. Lots more spikes and named after the fierce Greek goddess Echidna - half woman half snake, known as The Mother of all Monsters!! Actually that's a little unfair, they're not exactly ferocious. Basically a large spiky ball that burrows down when cornered, impossible to budge.

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We were getting regular visits from the Greater Australian Humming Bird (bovem de stercore) a couple of years ago, they really make an entrance...starting at about 4.00am
Rich.

too long in the shed by myself...
 

"it says here to decrease the breaker gap to 0.18"... hold down the thumb... what? What's a thumb?"

Wayne,I see you feed him/her. Are they fairly tame, or do they run when get close?

Our resident 'Kitty Cat', looking for lunch ..... now a tasty morsel like an Aussie Bandicoot might go down well....

Puma concolor aka Mountain Lion come to check out what I'd been working on. This was taken by the trailcam around midday, which is a bit concerning!! Don't mind Kitty wandering about when I'm not there, but .....

Mike C :ergh:

cat
 

Bloody hell :no4: :no4:

That would scare the crap out of me . Do you wear a side arm ?

Mike, I have one of those kitty cats too. This photo was from 2014 (a few hundred yards behind my house), but the cats are seen regularly. Its just hard to catch them on camera.

coot
 

Lynn, not tame but some are fearless.

This female is skittish but the other male will climb on you for attention/a handout. They are wild animals and you should never try to pick one up or you'll find out how wild.

Like most wild things in Oz it either bites, stings or will eat you.

Mike, nice pussy. "Tasty" and "Bandicoot" do not often appear in a sentence.

Too True Wayne!

Mike Kelly .... I mostly carry sidearm if I'm working out there (it's a property remote from our home) which is more for my peace of mind than any real defence as those 'kitty's' are incredibly elusive as Wayne H said, but super-fast if they do decide you look like a meal! We have been up close with several for photo shoots over the years, and even these 'tame' ones scare me!!

Mike