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| Read more about the muskrat. |
This big water rat with the heavy body, short legs and flat scaly tail carried on its edge is one of the most valuable of our fur-bearing animals. The soft woolly under-fur is covered by rich brown outer fur, often an inch or more in length.
The Muskrat is often called, "The little brother of the Beaver" and its appearance and many of its habits resemble closely those of the latter.
When Musquash lives in water bordered by high banks, he digs a burrow in the side, which gradually slopes upward to the den. There are generally several passageways to the den, most of them being plugged. The entrance to the main burrow is under water and close to the bottom, so that it will not freeze shut in cold weather. Thus the Muskrat really enters his home through the basement. The den is well above the water-line in the bank, with a ventilator to the surface, generally hidden by a pile of sticks or grass. In the den is a large amount of grass and weed stalks. These serve as bedding and food.
If however Musquash lives in the region of rivers or marshes with low banks, he gathers coarse grass, reeds, sticks, roots and mud, and builds the dome-shaped house that so often tells us that he is there. The houses are begun in the summer. A place is selected in the rushes where the water is about two feet deep and the vegetation and mud dragged to the spot. In this way a little island of rubbish is gradually piled up and the water around deepened and cleared of rushes. As the island rises above the water-level, more plants and less mud are used. When it is a few inches above the water, a tunnel is dug from the bottom up to the surface of the mud island and into the thin plant covering. Every day a few more bundles of rushes and reeds are dragged onto the pile which by August is three or four feet high. If the roof of the center chamber crushes down under the weight, it is torn off from the inside as it gets too low. In time it stops sinking in, the floor is covered with several inches of material pulled off in heightening the roof, the chamber is enlarged, additional entrances are dug, the channel to each is deepened and the Muskrat's house, after a slow growth, is ready for the winter.
Each year two or three litters of blind, naked and helpless young are born in the lodge or bank nest, where they live contentedly with their parents until the following spring.
Musquash is not often seen during the day but if you sit near a colony on a warm, moonlight night you are almost sure to see him swimming across the pond, breaking the surface into silver V's and sending little, shining ripples dancing toward shore. Perhaps one climbs up to some favorite reed bed, log or rock to eat a dinner of reeds, lily roots, flags or nearly any green thing in the pond. The vegetable food is varied with clams, mussels and fish. Should an enemy appear or you stand up he dives with a loud splash, shattering the stillness and breaking the surface into a thousand wavelets.
When a Muskrat discovers danger he dives to safety. Of his many enemies, the Mink is the worst for it lives in the same places and can follow the Muskrat into his home, no matter how long or crooked is the underground trail to his door. On land, Weasels, Foxes, Wolves and Otters pursue him. In the air there are Hawks and Owls; in the water Pike and Pickerel.
During most of the year, Muskrat is content to stay close to home near his lodge or burrow. In the fall he becomes restless and starts out on his travels, exploring strange fields and meadows, until finally he finds the place that suits him best and settles down to months of living under the ice. When met during these wanderings, he shows great courage and will attack anything that gets too close.
There is a Native legend that the Muskrat rendered a great service to Manabojou, the sun-god, during the flood, so the sun-god said, "You may have any part of the land to live in that you wish" The Muskrat took the deep lakes. But next day he came back and said, "I made a mistake; I want the grassy banks where there are green things to eat." These were given him. But the next day he was back again to say he was again mistaken, as he could not swim on the banks and he wanted the deep water again. Manabojou replied, "One day you want land, the next day, water. You do not know your own mind so I will decide. Henceforth, you shall live in the between-land of the marsh, neither land nor water-where there is long, green grass to eat and water deep enough to swim in." And so it has been ever since. Gordon S. Pearsall
The Muskrat is often called, "The little brother of the Beaver" and its appearance and many of its habits resemble closely those of the latter.
When Musquash lives in water bordered by high banks, he digs a burrow in the side, which gradually slopes upward to the den. There are generally several passageways to the den, most of them being plugged. The entrance to the main burrow is under water and close to the bottom, so that it will not freeze shut in cold weather. Thus the Muskrat really enters his home through the basement. The den is well above the water-line in the bank, with a ventilator to the surface, generally hidden by a pile of sticks or grass. In the den is a large amount of grass and weed stalks. These serve as bedding and food.
If however Musquash lives in the region of rivers or marshes with low banks, he gathers coarse grass, reeds, sticks, roots and mud, and builds the dome-shaped house that so often tells us that he is there. The houses are begun in the summer. A place is selected in the rushes where the water is about two feet deep and the vegetation and mud dragged to the spot. In this way a little island of rubbish is gradually piled up and the water around deepened and cleared of rushes. As the island rises above the water-level, more plants and less mud are used. When it is a few inches above the water, a tunnel is dug from the bottom up to the surface of the mud island and into the thin plant covering. Every day a few more bundles of rushes and reeds are dragged onto the pile which by August is three or four feet high. If the roof of the center chamber crushes down under the weight, it is torn off from the inside as it gets too low. In time it stops sinking in, the floor is covered with several inches of material pulled off in heightening the roof, the chamber is enlarged, additional entrances are dug, the channel to each is deepened and the Muskrat's house, after a slow growth, is ready for the winter.
Each year two or three litters of blind, naked and helpless young are born in the lodge or bank nest, where they live contentedly with their parents until the following spring.
Musquash is not often seen during the day but if you sit near a colony on a warm, moonlight night you are almost sure to see him swimming across the pond, breaking the surface into silver V's and sending little, shining ripples dancing toward shore. Perhaps one climbs up to some favorite reed bed, log or rock to eat a dinner of reeds, lily roots, flags or nearly any green thing in the pond. The vegetable food is varied with clams, mussels and fish. Should an enemy appear or you stand up he dives with a loud splash, shattering the stillness and breaking the surface into a thousand wavelets.
When a Muskrat discovers danger he dives to safety. Of his many enemies, the Mink is the worst for it lives in the same places and can follow the Muskrat into his home, no matter how long or crooked is the underground trail to his door. On land, Weasels, Foxes, Wolves and Otters pursue him. In the air there are Hawks and Owls; in the water Pike and Pickerel.
During most of the year, Muskrat is content to stay close to home near his lodge or burrow. In the fall he becomes restless and starts out on his travels, exploring strange fields and meadows, until finally he finds the place that suits him best and settles down to months of living under the ice. When met during these wanderings, he shows great courage and will attack anything that gets too close.
There is a Native legend that the Muskrat rendered a great service to Manabojou, the sun-god, during the flood, so the sun-god said, "You may have any part of the land to live in that you wish" The Muskrat took the deep lakes. But next day he came back and said, "I made a mistake; I want the grassy banks where there are green things to eat." These were given him. But the next day he was back again to say he was again mistaken, as he could not swim on the banks and he wanted the deep water again. Manabojou replied, "One day you want land, the next day, water. You do not know your own mind so I will decide. Henceforth, you shall live in the between-land of the marsh, neither land nor water-where there is long, green grass to eat and water deep enough to swim in." And so it has been ever since. Gordon S. Pearsall
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