December 4, 1998

     Muskrats

We have had ice sheets off and on for a couple of weeks, and muskrats have been taking advantage of the platforms as places to rest and eat.  They are largely vegetarians and we see them bring various aquatic plant parts, like tubers, up for their picnics on the ice.

A muskrat is a furry animal about the size of a small house cat, weighing two to three pounds, and always found near water.  The long, shiny guard hairs of its coat are a rich brown, and beneath these is a dense mass of thick under fur that is impervious to water.  A long scaly tail that is flattened on the sides and functions as a rudder, and partially webbed hind feet to assist in swimming, make it possible for a muskrat to live an aquatic life.

Muskrats are found in most parts of the United States and Canada.  They are more active by night than day, and while they do not hibernate they build houses shaped like miniature beaver lodges, up to about four feet high and eight feet in diameter, in preparation for winter.  These houses are made of cattail plants, mud and smaller water plants that they build up into mounds.  Then, like the beavers, they eat and dig out a chamber inside and an underwater entrance where they can enter and leave unobserved.  Muskrats may also burrow into banks.