This local animal is often mistaken for another visitor in our wetlands, the beaver. But look closely and you may just be able to spot the difference…
One easy way to spot the difference is in their size: muskrats are much smaller, weighing in at about 2-5 lbs while beavers can weigh 35-68 lbs. Muskrats also have long skinny tails covered in hairs while beavers have flat tails covered in scales. If you happen to catch them swimming, muskrats tend to have their heads, back, and tails at the water’s surface while beavers only keep their heads above water, using their tail as a rudder.
Habitat: Muskrats (Ondatra zybethicus) are a semi- aquatic species, so they spend most of their time in water but will come onto land. They can be seen in wetlands such as swamps, marshes, lakes, ponds, and slow-moving streams. The rich vegetation of these environments allows them to forage for food and also provides materials to build their lodges (nests). These lodges are used as feeding platforms and provide important habitat in the winter. Building lodges also has the added ecological benefit of helping to maintain open areas in marshes which provides habitat for aquatic birds.
Diet: They are omnivorous although their diet consists primarily of aquatic plants. Muskrats eat plants including cattails, sedges, water lilies, arrowheads, and duckweeds, which are all found in wetlands within this region. Occasionally, and especially if there is not enough plant matter available, muskrats will add animals such as snails, shellfish, and frogs to their diet.
Adaptations: Muskrats are extremely well- adapted to their semi-aquatic lifestyles. They are able to swim quickly and efficiently using their webbed back feet and their tail. They even have the ability to swim forwards and backwards! In addition, they can breathe underwater for up to fifteen minutes and can reduce the amount of oxygen their bodies require. Muskrats are also excellent burrowers, and will use this method to escape predators. Practiced escapees use this method to create a cloud of mud that camouflages them as they swim away from danger. In the winter, a muskrat faces risk of freezing, predation, and food scarcity. For the most part, it will spend its time hunkered down in its lodge, along with its mate, pups, or other family members. By spring, adults will venture further away, kicking out their pups and mating to produce a new litter followed by a second litter mid-summer.
Northern Woodlands
Wikipedia
The Buzz
(Originally featured as February 2022 Flora & Fauna Fridays.)
