Muskrats are family-oriented creatures that stay with one mate for life. They live together with their young until the home gets too crowded, at which point, the mother will kick them out. In that case, they’ll need to make their own way in the world by finding a mate and building a home for themselves and their offspring.
Full Answer
What do muskrats do with their young?
Muskrats are family-oriented creatures that stay with one mate for life. They live together with their young until the home gets too crowded, at which point, the mother will kick them out. In that case, they’ll need to make their own way in the world by finding a mate and building a home for themselves and their offspring.
How many babies do muskrats have a year?
After a 30-day gestation period, females give birth to two or three litters per year with each litter averaging four to eight pups. The size of the litter varies with the seasons; larger litters born in spring and summer and smaller litters born in winter. Newborn muskrats are weaned for about a year before they become independent.
What animals are muskrats related to?
Muskrats are large rodents, and therefore are related to rats, mice, voles, gerbils, hamsters and lemmings. These aquatic animals look a lot like their relatives. They are quite round, with short legs and almost invisible ears. Muskrats are around the size of large rats.
Do muskrats live in water?
Muskrats are dependent upon habitats including water. This species thrives in many lakes, rivers, creeks, ponds, and marshes. Muskrats can tolerate a certain amount of pollution in water, and thus is often found living within large cities. Muskrats are polygamous.
Do muskrats live in pairs?
They live in families, consisting of a male and female pair and their young. To protect themselves from the cold and from predators, they build nests that are often burrowed into the bank with an underwater entrance.
How often do muskrats mate?
Muskrats can mate after they are a year old, and after that they might have as many as five litters in a single year! The mother carries them for about a month before giving birth, and in each litter there can be anywhere from two to nine babies. In warmer climates, muskrats breed all year.
Where do muskrats mate?
Muskrats mate while partially submerged or on water-logged debris just above the surface. The gestation period is about 28 days (extremes, 22-30 days). Females bear 1-4 litters of 1-14 (average 6-7) young per litter.
How long do muskrats live for?
Although muskrats have been known to live to 10 years old in captivity, they probably live about 3 years in the wild.
Are muskrats good for a pond?
Muskrats Can Cause Property and Landscaping Damage While muskrats may seem harmless, they are also tunneling animals, which means that they can cause serious damage to the landscaping of your pond and yard. They can also create embankments and barriers that can cause flooding and as a result, can also cause erosion.
What is the best way to get rid of muskrats?
1.4.1 1) Cover Banks With Liner.1.4.2 2) Install Floating Netting.1.4.3 3) Live Trapping (Humane Traps)1.4.4 4) Install Perimeter Fencing.1.4.5 5) Use Natural Repellents.1.4.6 6) Attract Natural Predators.1.4.7 7) Remove Muskrat Food Sources.1.4.8 8) Hire a Pest Professional.
What is a muskrats favorite food?
Muskrats are especially fond of grains, seeds, and nuts. They enjoy eating crops such as corn, sugarcane, rice, and oats. They also enjoy eating all sorts of seeds such as corn, sunflower seeds, peas, fruit seeds, herb seeds, and many other types.
What time do muskrats come out?
Muskrats are considered nocturnal, though they are sometimes active during the day. Their most active times are late afternoon and right after dusk.
What do muskrats do in the winter?
Although they do not hibernate, during extreme winter weather conditions, muskrats will stay in their underground dens or floating lodges where food is cached.
What is special about a muskrat?
The muskrat's name is derived from the fact that the animal has two special musk glands—also called anal glands—situated beneath the skin in the region of the anus.
Are muskrats friendly?
Yes muskrats are aggressive and can be dangerous and can carry rabies! Generally speaking muskrats are pretty aggressive when it comes to other animals, but they are also known to be aggressive towards humans as well. They are particularly aggressive when they believe they're protecting their home or their family.
What is a group of muskrats called?
A muskrat group is called a colony, horde, pack, plague or swarm.
How many muskrats live together?
Muskrats reproduce quickly and tend to live together in large families. In favorable conditions, muskrats may rear as many as 20 young in a single season. As muskrat families grow, their lodges expand to include more chambers and even levels.
How many muskrats live in a house?
Inside each house, which is about one and one-half to three-feet high, a family of three to five muskrats snuggles to stay warm. If a lodge needs repairs, holes are patched with anything from water lily roots to frozen catfish pulled from the mud.
What is the best bait for muskrats?
applesMuskrats are considered omnivores, but they have a strong preference for plants and only consume animal matter when vegetation is scarce. The best baits for your muskrat trap are starchy root vegetables, apples, and strong-smelling oils.
What do muskrats do in the winter?
Although they do not hibernate, during extreme winter weather conditions, muskrats will stay in their underground dens or floating lodges where food is cached.
What are muskrats related to?
Muskrats are large rodents, and therefore are related to rats, mice, voles, gerbils, hamsters and lemmings. These aquatic animals look a lot like their relatives. They are quite round, with short legs and almost invisible ears.
Where do muskrats live?
They are now found in Ukraine, Russia, adjacent areas of China and Mongolia and the Honshu Island in Japan. Muskrats like wetter areas with at least 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 cm) of water. They typically make their homes in marshes, swamps and wetlands. They particularly like marshes.
How do muskrats make their nests?
Muskrats make their nests on tree stumps sticking out of 15 to 40 inches (38 to 102 cm) of water using vegetation. Females have a gestation period of three to four weeks and give birth to three to eight young, according to Encyclopedia Britannica. They can have up to three litters each year.
How far do muskrats travel?
Though they need a large supply of food, muskrats usually don't travel any farther than 150 feet (46 meters) away from their homes.
Why are muskrats considered pests?
Though thought of as pests because they sometimes eat crops and block waterways with their lodges, muskrats are very helpful. By eating aquatic plants, they open other areas of the waterways, giving ducks and other birds clear places to swim. Their lodges are also used by other animals as resting areas and nests.
Why do muskrats like wet areas?
Hot, dry weather is bad for muskrats, which is why they prefer wet areas and cool burrows dug on the banks of water sources. They even have a special mechanism, called regional heterothermia. Regional heterothermia regulates the flow of blood to the feet and tail. This keeps them cooler than the body's core.
What is the scent of musk?
They communicate with others and mark their territory with a secretion from their glands called musk. The scent serves as a warning to intruders.
Where are muskrats found?
The muskrat is found in wetlands over a wide range of climates and habitats. It has important effects on the ecology of wetlands, ...
Why do muskrats dive?
In several Native American creation myths, the muskrat dives to the bottom of the primordial sea to bring up the mud from which the earth is created, after other animals have failed in the task. Muskrats have sometimes been a food resource for North Americans.
Why are muskrats considered invasive?
In some European countries, such as Belgium, France, and the Netherlands, the muskrat is considered an invasive pest, as its burrowing damages the dikes and levees on which these low-lying countries depend for protection from flooding. In those countries, it is trapped, poisoned, and hunted to attempt to keep the population down. Muskrats also eat corn and other farm and garden crops growing near water bodies.
How wide are muskrat nests?
In streams, ponds, or lakes, muskrats burrow into the bank with an underwater entrance. These entrances are 6–8 in (15–20 cm) wide. In marshes, push-ups are constructed from vegetation and mud.
What is the difference between a muskrat and a beaver?
The muskrat is much smaller than a beaver ( Castor canadensis ), with which they often share habitat. A muskrat skull. Muskrats are covered with short, thick fur, which is medium to dark brown or black in color, with the belly a bit lighter ( countershaded ); as the animal ages, it turns partly gray.
How long can a muskrat swim?
Muskrats spend most of their time in water and are well suited to their semiaquatic life. They can swim underwater for 12 to 17 minutes. Their bodies, like those of seals and whales, are less sensitive to the buildup of carbon dioxide than those of most other mammals. They can close off their ears to keep water out. Their hind feet are semiwebbed, although when swimming their tails are their main means of propulsion.
Why do muskrats dive to the bottom of the primordial sea?
In several Native American creation myths, the muskrat dives to the bottom of the primordial sea to bring up the mud from which the earth is created , after other animals have failed in the task.
Why are muskrats important?
Muskrats play important roles in certain ecological systems, as their eating and denning habits create the ideal flat nesting areas for certain birds.
How to tell if a muskrat is a muskrat?
Signs of a muskrat's presence or damage include: 1 muskrat tracks: four toes in front and five in the back with visible claws; visible tail mark in between prints 2 muskrat droppings on dry, elevated surfaces such as stumps, logs, rocks or feeding platforms 3 feeding platforms: elevated, flat pads of mud and vegetation 4 lodges: piles of mud and aquatic vegetation, up to 8 feet in width and 5 feet tall 5 muskrat burrow entrances: holes in backs or dams, about 6-8" in diameter and up to 3 feet below water level 6 leaking ponds or dams due to burrowing 7 collapsed banks due to extensive burrowing
What diseases do muskrats carry?
The most serious illnesses include: tularemia - via ticks, bites, contact with infected flesh and contaminated water.
What is a muskrat?
Muskrats are unique, semi-aquatic rodents named for the musky smell and rat-like appearance. They're known mostly for their destructive burrowing in ponds, streams and dams, but there's more than this to these large wetland-dwelling mammals. Below, learn all about muskrats, including interesting facts and important habits that can help you control their damage.
How big are muskrat lodges?
lodges: piles of mud and aquatic vegetation, up to 8 feet in width and 5 feet tall. muskrat burrow entrances: holes in backs or dams, about 6-8" in diameter and up to 3 feet below water level. leaking ponds or dams due to burrowing. collapsed banks due to extensive burrowing.
What are muskrats' feeding platforms?
These feeding platforms are flat, elevated piles of mud and vegetation, which muskrats construct outside of their living dens. Social Interaction: As monogamous breeders, muskrats live with their mates and their young. They are very territorial - especially during breeding season.
Where do muskrats live?
Muskrat Geography. Muskrats are native to North America, with a range that extends from Canada, down to some northern parts of Mexico. They have also been introduced to Northern Europe, Asia, and South America - mainly for their valued pelts.
Where do muskrats live?
Muskrat Habitat. Muskrats prefer living in areas with consistent sources of shallow water, including ponds , swamps, slow-moving streams, marshes, and other wetlands. They burrow into the banks of ponds or streams, constructing dens that typically have at least one underwater entrance and are made of aquatic plants and mud.
What do muskrats eat?
Muskrat Diet. Muskrats primarily eat aquatic vegetation like bulrushes and cattails , though they will also eat fruits and vegetables. A small part of their diet is shellfish, snails, fish, and frogs, and these are generally consumed when plant foods are scarce.
How to prevent muskrats from living in ponds?
Habitat modifications can be implemented to discourage muskrats from living in certain areas. Managing slopes and water levels, trimming overgrown vegetation, and installing barriers help prevent muskrats from burrowing into pond embankments.
Why do muskrats damage the ecosystem?
The majority of muskrat damage is done to the ecosystems in which they live because their feeding habits cause deterioration of available food sources for other species. Additionally, the animal’s preference for building dens on the banks of waterways can affect existing dams.
How long can a muskrat hold its breath underwater?
Muskrats are excellent swimmers, thanks to their webbed back feet, laterally flattened tails, and the ability to hold their breath underwater for 15-20 minutes. They have the ability to swim backward and forwards. Description.
What are muskrat droppings?
Droppings. You may notice muskrat droppings on dry, elevated surfaces such as stumps, logs, rocks, feeding sites, or floating in the water. Droppings are dark green, brown, or almost black. They are slightly curved, cylindrical, and about 1/2″ long and 3/8″ in diameter. Feeding Platforms.
Why are muskrats four toed?
Although they have five toes, often the front print appears four-toed because the inner toe is extremely small and barely shows in the track. Appearance. Muskrats are often confused with the beaver, but they are much smaller with silky brown fur and have a long, thin tail instead of a wide, flat tail like a beaver.
What do muskrats eat?
Muskrats eat mostly aquatic plants and some field crops, such as corn, soybeans, wheat, oats, sugarcane and rice grown as a flooded crop.
Why is a muskrat considered a rodent?
The muskrat is classified as a rodent because of its four incisor teeth in the front of the mouth. The two upper and two lower incisors overlap, allowing them to self-sharpen as they are used. Folds of skin behind the incisors allow a submerged muskrat to cut vegetation without getting water into its mouth.
How long does it take for a muskrat to return to its original habitat?
Muskrat “eat-outs” often destroy the roots of the vegetation, and it may take 15-20 years for the habitat to return to its original capacity to serve wildlife.
What is the fur color of a muskrat?
The muskrats’ fur is short and dense. Its colors are mostly browns with lighter shades of grays or blondes on their chest and stomach areas. The under fur of the muskrat traps the air and prevents the skin of the muskrat from becoming wet while it is in the water.
What is the tail of a muskrat?
Their hind feet are longer then they’re front and are partially webbed. The tail of the muskrat is deeper than it is wide and it tapers to a blunt point at the end. Their tail greatly assists in their swimming abilities. The muskrats’ fur is short and dense.
Where do muskrats burrow?
Muskrats burrow in the banks of ponds, rivers and streams. Uncontrolled muskrat populations cause damage to private property and habitat. Their hole digging activities undermine earthen dams, levees and dikes completely weakening their structures. Their tunnels may drain a small farm pond.
Do muskrats damage docks?
Muskrats may damage floating docks, marinas and boathouses. Large populations also cause “eat-outs.” These areas are simply over cropped by the feeding activities of the muskrats and the loss of vegetation and resulting silting makes the area less productive for other wildlife species as well.
What bird mate for life?
Another bird species that mates for life is the bald eagle. According to the National Audubon Society, this national bird uses nest-building to solidify its bond with its mate. "The pair continuously adds to the structure, so that after many seasons it assumes gargantuan proportions and stands as a symbol of their fidelity," the organization explains.
What percentage of mammals are monogamous?
According to the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF), about five percent of all mammal species and 90 percent of bird species are monogamous, meaning that they choose a partner and stick with them through thick and thin. So if you're feeling like nobody stays together anymore, keep on reading. From seahorses and swans to gray foxes ...
How long do Oldfield mice live?
Oldfield mice are one of the few rodents known to mate for life, as a paper written by Auburn University zoology professor Michael C. Wooten notes. Though they don't live long—the average life expectancy of an Oldfield mouse in the wild is less than nine months—bonded pairs will spent their short lives breeding and taking care of offspring.
How old do lovebirds mate?
They don't like to spread the love, however: According to Smithsonian, these colorful birds mate for life after reaching sexual maturity at around 10 months old.
Which bird is monogamous?
Yet another bird that's famously monogamous is the albatross. "These globe-trotters … mate for life and are incredibly faithful to their partners," birdwatcher Noah Strycker writes in The Thing with Feathers. "To see what real devotion is like, you need to spend some quality time with an albatross."
Do French angelfish mate?
And these pairs don't really change, seeing that angelfish mate for life.
Is monogamy limited to sea creatures?
Monogamy isn't limited to creatures on land. According to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the seahorse is just one of many sea creatures that mate for life. And fun fact: In these monogamous couples, it's the male that gives birth to the offspring.
How Do Muskrats Survive Winter?
They do this by slowing down their heart rate under water and drawing in oxygen from their muscle tissue.
What Do Muskrats Like Eating?
Muskrats are technically omnivores, which means they can eat both animals and plants. However, the average muskrat mainly sticks to a plant-based diet consisting of aquatic plants, such as roots, water grasses, and leaves.
How to Get Rid of Muskrats in a Pond?
In shallow areas like wetlands and ponds, they’ll construct dome-shaped lodges above the water level using mud and vegetation. These dens are dome-shaped structures that are sometimes mistaken for beaver lodges.
How Deep Do Muskrats Burrow?
These burrows are about 6 to 8 inches in diameter and go up to 3 feet below the water level. The resulting holes are often large enough to cause significant damage, including floods and structural damage.
Do Muskrats Hibernate?
Muskrats do hibernate in the winter by hiding out in their lodges or burrows with the rest of their family. On average, muskrats live with 3 to 5 other family members, which is beneficial for generating body heat throughout the colder months.
Do Muskrats Live Alone?
Muskrats are family-oriented creatures that stay with one mate for life. They live together with their young until the home gets too crowded, at which point, the mother will kick them out. In that case, they’ll need to make their own way in the world by finding a mate and building a home for themselves and their offspring.
Do Muskrats Cut Down Trees?
They’re both excellent swimmers, with the ability to dive and hold their breath underwater. Thus, it’s no surprise that many people assume muskrats eat trees , just like beavers.
Size
Habitat
Habits
- Muskrats are mammals. That means they give birth to live young, and they produce milk and nurse their babies. Muskrats can mate after they are a year old, and after that they might have as many as five litters in a single year! The mother carries them for about a month before giving birth, and in each litter there can be anywhere from two to nine b...
Diet
Offspring
- The muskrat is native to North America. In the early 20th century, though, the animal was introduced to northern Eurasia, according to the Animal Diversity Web(ADW). They are now found in Ukraine, Russia, adjacent areas of China and Mongolia and the Honshu Island in Japan. Muskrats like wetter areas with at least 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 cm) of water. They typically mak…
Classification/Taxonomy
- Muskrats are very social and live in large, territorial families, according to the ADW. They communicate with others and mark their territory with a secretion from their glands called musk. The scent serves as a warning to intruders. Muskrats are considered nocturnal, though they are sometimes active during the day. Their most active times are late afternoon and right after dusk.
Conservation Status
- Muskrats aren't picky. In fact, they will even resort to cannibalism in their own family, according to the ADW. Mostly though, they tend to prefer vegetation like cattails, waterlilies, roots and pondweed. They also eat snails, mussels, salamanders, crustaceans, fish and young birds. These small animals are very big eaters. Muskrats eat one-third o...
Other Facts
- Muskrats make their nests on tree stumps sticking out of 15 to 40 inches (38 to 102 cm) of water using vegetation. Females have a gestation period of three to four weeks and give birth to three to eight young, according to Encyclopedia Britannica. They can have up to three litters each year. Baby muskrats are called kits. At 30 days old, kits can swim, dive and feed themselves. Kits are f…
Overview
- Here is the taxonomy for muskrats, according to the Integrated Taxonomic Information System(ITIS): Kingdom: Animalia Subkingdom: Bilateria Infrakingdom: Deuterostomia Phylum: Chordata Subphylum: Vertebrata Infraphylum: Gnathostomata Superclass: Tetrapoda Class: Mammalia Subclass: Theria Infraclass: Eutheria Order: Rodentia Suborder: Myomorpha Superfa…
Etymology
- Muskrats are listed as least concern on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species. This means that their populations are generally stable and widespread. Though thought of as pests because they sometimes eat crops and block waterways with their lodges, muskrats are very helpful. By eating aquatic plants, they open other areas of th…
Description
- The muskrat's dense fur traps air to keep them warm. It also helps them float in water. Though not great on land, muskrats are fantastic swimmers. They can hold their breath under water for 12 to 17 minutes, according to the ADW. They can swim up to about 3 mph (5 km/h) thanks to their paddle-like webbed feet. Muskrats can even swim backward. Additional resources 1. Departmen…
Distribution and ecology
The muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) is a medium-sized semiaquatic rodent native to North America and an introduced species in parts of Europe, Asia, and South America. The muskrat is found in wetlands over a wide range of climates and habitats. It has important effects on the ecology of wetlands, and is a resource of food and fur for humans.
Adult muskrats weigh 0.6–2 kg (1.3–4.4 lb), with a body length of 20–35 cm (8–10 in). They are …
Invasiveness status
The muskrat's name probably comes from a word of Algonquian (possibly Powhatan ) origin, muscascus (literally "it is red", so called for its colorings), or from the Abenaki native word mòskwas, as seen in the archaic English name for the animal, musquash. Because of the association with the "musky" odor, which the muskrat uses to mark its territory, and its flattened tail, the name became altered to musk-beaver; later it became "muskrat" due to its resemblance t…
Behavior
In human history
External links
In Europe, the muskrat has been included in the list of invasive alien species of Union concern (the Union list) since August 2, 2017. This implies that this species cannot be imported, bred, transported, commercialized, or intentionally released into the environment in the whole of the European Union.