Muskrats are often incorrect for beavers. The most convenient method to inform a muskrat from a beaver is by its overall size and the shape of its tail. A muskrat also has a fairly furless, scaly tail compared to a beavers broad, flat tail. How paradoxical that this heron and muskrat got along, offered that herons sometimes feed on baby muskrats!
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Muskrats are also edible by individuals, however in recent times humans have pursued muskrats generally for their fur.
The list of muskrat predators is long, consisting of mink, fox, mountain lions, raccoons, bears, wolverines, hawks, owls and eagles.
Muskrats are likewise edible by individuals, however in current times people have pursued muskrats generally for their fur. A coat trimmed with “Hudson sealskin” was truly embellished with muskrat fur colored to look like seal.
Come winter, your regional muskrats are acquiring lots of push-ups on the ice. Im not describing some type of rodent bootcamp, but clumps of plants that these semi-aquatic mammals rise through the airholes they gnaw through the ice to keep them open.
A “push-up” to a muskrat is a place where they can capture a breath while foraging undersea for their next meal. When the ice melts in the spring, these clumps of plant matter float on top of the water like odd little islands.
Often eclipsed by otters and beavers, the muskrat is really a fun-to-observe and interesting mammal found coast to coast in North America.
© JBallard
Its Not a Beaver
When somebody sees a muskrat swimming through the marsh, the very first idea is frequently that its a beaver. Look once again.
Muskrats are often mistaken for beavers. Both are furry and brown and strong swimmers. They reside in very same watery environments and busily gather the plants under the water and along the shoreline. They are likewise both rodents, though only distantly related. The closest loved ones to muskrats are voles and lemmings, and the populations of all 3 types similarly cycle up and down every decade or so.
The simplest way to inform a muskrat from a beaver is by its general size and the shape of its tail. A tubby muskrat at four pounds is a midget compared to a 45-pound beaver. A muskrat likewise has a reasonably furless, flaky tail compared to a beavers broad, flat tail. A muskrats tail is a little flat on the vertical sides, though not much. It uses its tail for propulsion in the water, and it never slaps it.
A beaver swimming. The 2 mammals are quickly confused initially glimpse. © L Densmore
When it waddles ashore, it merely drags its tail throughout the ground or snow. If you see tracks near a coastline with an unique line in between the right and left pawprints, they were most likely left by a muskrat.
Whats more, muskrats do not fell trees. They harvest cattails, immersed roots and grasses, and reeds which they utilize and consume to develop their push-ups and lodges. Waterlilies are muskrat candy.
Muskrats dont cache food for the winter season like a beaver so they must find fresh water plants every day under the ice, though theyll occasionally snack on little fish, clams, turtles and snails, too.
In addition to push-ups, some muskrats develop lodges for protection from predators and for shelter during the winter. Not all muskrats make lodges.
© L Ballard
Putting the Musk in Muskrat
I often encounter muskrats while fishing around reed beds. One time, while wade-fishing in the Adirondacks in upstate New York, one especially bold muskrat attempted to swim between my legs. I nearly dropped my rod. The wet furball stank! In fact, I smelled it before I saw it emerge from a tangle of cattails behind me.
Muskrats earned their name thanks to their musky scent, but their smell is not emitted in defense like a skunks. Its how they mark area and to “talk” to the opposite sex, however at that moment, I truly didnt care why it smelled. The good news is, as I tried to step away, it dove. When the air cleared, I was grateful for the opportunity to see it so close, however where did it go?
A muskrat spotted at Historic Jamestown, Virginia. © L Ballard
Just as my line settled on the water, the muskrat reappeared. As it turns out, carbon dioxide does not construct up as quickly in a muskrats body as in a lot of mammals. Like seals and whales, they can stay immersed for long periods of time, up to 17 minutes in the case of a muskrat.
While muskrat populations ups and downs in a natural cycle, it would appear the species must be susceptible to a total decrease provided how wetlands have decreased in quality and amount across the continent, but muskrats have actually proven to be a rather resilient species. They take up house in constructed canals when natural waterways dry up, and they can tolerate certain contaminants that eliminate fish and frogs.
They reproduce prolifically, too. Muskrats raise up the 3 litters annually with as much as 10 children per litter. The young mature rapidly. In simply a month, the mother muskrat kicks her kids out to take care of themselves. That is, unless its the last litter of the summer. That bunch gets to invest the winter season with mom and daddy. They all huddle together inside their lodge to keep each other warmer.
© J Ballard
Muskrats versus Other Wildlife
During the summer, muskrats construct platforms out of greenery which birds use as dry places to consume. When the muskrat dives after more food, a bird may utilize its feeding platform as a perch.
The heron flushed when it saw me, however the muskrat quickly returned with a mouthful of freshly foraged greens. How ironic that this heron and muskrat got along, given that herons periodically feed on infant muskrats!