Is this just a rat? (Don’t open if you don’t like rats)

[Era]

This chubby little thing was happily pottering around today by a lakeside. I thought it was a rat but it had a really flat face and was chubby and very furry. Is it just a fat rat or is it something else?

Rat. Rat. Rat.

There's a very clear photo of a water vole here - the tail is completely different.

www.nationaltrust.org.uk/discover/nature/wildlife/how-to-spot-water-voles

Definitely a Vat.

(front = Vole back = Rat)

😁

Though if it's a baby rat as suggested up thread, as it's 20cm I suggest quietly retreating and avoiding all James Herbert books 😱

we went back today and I looked out for it again but no sign.

I think it is a rat who has dressed as a vole for WBD (but forgot to disguise his tail and feet)

Are you in the UK?

I’ve actually logged back into mumsnet for the first time in about a year to say I think it’s a Nutria… very common around the river in Prague .

if you’re UK it would be considered invasive and should prob be reported ….

Oh apparently they have made it here - they were introduced in East Anglia in 1929 for fur.

doubling down on my vote for nutria

Im in the Midlands

Oh sorry- aka coypu

supposedly eradicated from the UK in the 1980s due to damage to land and crops

If you want to report it (and get proper verification for your own satisfaction!) I think the non native species secretariat are the guys; they have an email address.

That's a water vole!!!
Very rare, you're lucky to see it. 😍

They are lovely creatures and their numbers plummeted for two reasons...

When animal rights people released lots of mink into the wild (I'm sure the mink were delighted... But... unintended consequences- they are voracious non-native predators). 😭

Also the propensity for British Waterways (now the canal and river trust) to put piling (vertical metal sheeting)along all the canal banks, devastating them due to removing habitat.

It was a double whammy and I'm vicariously thrilled you saw one.

A rat dressed up as Ratty 😀

I hate to be the bringer of calm when panic is so much more exciting, but there is no way in hell that animal is a coypu.
Neither is it a hippopotamus or a kangaroo.

Very sweet!

It’s too cute, looks like a vole to me

Ridiculous moment of realisation here. A family member is a professional wildlife photographer. He’s apparently in South America at the moment but I will ask his view when he’s back (and cringe when he asks why I’m taking crap photos of fat rats)

@Era brilliant! 😁🤣🤣
I look forward to his verdict. Camp water vole here. Can we have prizes for the winners? 😁

Shamelessly place marking as fascinated to find out what this creature is. I’m going to be gutted if it’s a rat.

It is cute, and I think it’s a water vole too. The tail is a bit blurry but I don’t think it’s hairless. Vole tails aren’t furry, just a bit hairy, kind of like pigs.

However, rats are also cute. Even brown ones. They can’t help being vermin.