They have partially webbed hind legs, waterproof fur, a flattened head, a long blunt nose, many whiskers and small ears and eyes.

The body is streamlined with a skull that is large, flat and elongated, with two molars on the upper and lower jaw, similar to the water mouse.

[5] Long considered a nuisance animal, rakali were hunted for their soft fur, particularly in the Depression of the 1930s, when a ban was placed on imported pelts such as the American muskrat.

[6] With their numbers under threat, a protection order was issued in 1938,[7] however they were still subject to destruction permits from 1938 to 1957 due to their effect on irrigation banks and alleged damage to fishing nets.

[17] Their waterproof thick coat varies from extremely dark fur, black to slate grey on their back and white to orange underneath.

[18] The hind feet are wide and partially webbed, the broad face, flattened head and long whiskers are all distinguishing features.

Rakali live near permanent water in a diverse range of habitat that varies from fresh slow-moving streams, brackish inland lakes and creeks to wetlands, rivers, estuaries and beaches on coastlines.

Widely distributed through eastern Australia, west of the Kimberley, along the Northern coastline, throughout New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania, their habitat varies from freshwater streams to brackish wetlands,[7] including shallow lakes (up to 2 m (6 ft 7 in) in depth) and farm dams, deep water storages, slow-moving rivers, creeks and streams, estuaries, coastal lakes and sheltered marine bays.

[3] They prefer low banks with flat, densely vegetated water edges for protection and ease of stalking prey,[19] spending time when not foraging resting in hollow logs and burrows.

[3] The rakali is a predominantly carnivorous species, feeding on a variety of aquatic animals including fish, crustaceans, shellfish, small birds, eggs, mammals, frogs, and reptiles.

The rakali have naturally figured out how to avoid the toad’s poisonous shoulder glands by flipping them onto their backs for ease of dispatch.

Their poisonous skin secretions (which the eggs and tadpoles contain as well) can kill a dog or cat, and have contributed to the decline of several species of Australian reptiles, mammals, fish, and birds.

[21] Their diet makes this species susceptible to infestations of nematodes, with large numbers of Cosmocephalus australiensis recorded in 1959, burrowed into their stomach walls.

Rakali construct burrows dug into river banks but have also been documented building nests within sunken logs and reeds, in areas surrounded by roots and dense riparian vegetation for cover from predators.

Rakali have four mammae with nipples located in the abdominal inguinal area enabling litters of an average of four to five are born from September to February and are suckled for four weeks.

[19] Their social organisation suggests adults are intra-sexually aggressive with their limited home range and overlapping sex and age classes.

Their development occurs in stages associated with the eruption of incisors, hearing and eye-opening, eating solid foods, puberty and full reproductive maturity.