- Related Topics:
- vole
- On the Web:
- University of Kentucky - Department of Forestry and Natural Resources - Muskrat (Oct. 17, 2026)
muskrat
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What is a muskrat?
The muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) is a large, amphibious rodent native to North America, but also found in Eurasia. These robust voles can weigh up to 1.8 kg (4 pounds), have short legs, and compact bodies reaching 33 cm (13 inches) in length. Muskrats have small eyes and ears nearly hidden by fur, which ranges from reddish to blackish brown. Their large hind feet, fringed with stiff bristles and partially webbed, act as oars for swimming, while their tails serve as rudders. They can stay submerged for up to 20 minutes, swimming up to 5 km (3.1 miles) per hour. They build lodges from vegetation or dig burrows for shelter in marshes, wooded swamps, lakes, and streams. They eat mostly grasses and cattails, but sometimes eat freshwater mussels, snails, crustaceans, salamanders, fish, and young birds.
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What does a muskrat look like?
The muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) is a large, robust amphibious rodent that can weigh up to 1.8 kg (4 pounds). Its compact body can grow to 33 cm (13 inches) long, with short legs and small eyes and ears nearly hidden by fur. The muskrat has a sparsely haired, scaly tail, flattened vertically, that can be as long as its body. Its fur ranges from reddish to blackish brown, featuring a soft underfur and long, glossy guard hairs that provide insulation and buoyancy. The large hind feet are fringed with stiff bristles and partially webbed, which they use for swimming, with the tail acting as a rudder. Muskrats are named for the musky odor of a yellowish substance they secrete to mark their territory.
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Where do muskrats live?
Muskrats, amphibious rodents, are native to North America but also inhabit parts of Europe, Ukraine, Russia, Siberia, China, Mongolia, and Honshu Island in Japan. Their usual habitats are marshes, wooded swamps, lakes, and streams.
Muskrats construct lodges from cattails, sedges, and other vegetation. They also dig burrows near the water's edge for shelter. Their indigenous geographic range covers most of North America south of the tundra from Alaska to Newfoundland into the southern United States. They are not found in Florida or coastal parts of Georgia and South Carolina.
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What do muskrats eat?
Muskrats, large amphibious rodents, primarily eat grasses and cattails, but they also consume the roots and stalks of various other aquatic plants. They are occasionally predatory, consuming freshwater mussels, snails, crustaceans, salamanders, fish, and young birds. Marshes, wooded swamps, lakes, and streams are the usual habitats of muskrats. They construct lodges from cattails, sedges, and other vegetation, or they dig burrows near the water's edge for shelter.
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How do muskrats build their homes?
Muskrats are large, amphibious rodents that build homes in marshes, wooded swamps, lakes, and streams. They construct sizable lodges from cattails, sedges, and other vegetation. Muskrats also dig burrows near the water's edge for shelter, sometimes weakening earthen dams and dikes. They mark their lodges, pathways, and other landmarks using a musky substance secreted into their urine.
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Why are muskrats important to wetland ecosystems?
Muskrats are vital to wetland ecosystems because they help maintain the structure of marsh vegetation. They construct lodges from cattails, sedges, and other plants, and they also dig burrows for shelter. While muskrats primarily feed on grasses and cattails, they also consume other aquatic plants, which influences plant distribution and abundance. Muskrats occasionally act as predators, preying on freshwater mussels, snails, crustaceans, salamanders, fish, and young birds.
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muskrat, (Ondatra zibethicus), a large amphibious rodent indigenous to North America but found also in Europe, Ukraine, Russia, Siberia, adjacent areas of China and Mongolia, and Honshu Island in Japan. The muskrat is a robust vole weighing up to 1.8 kg (4 pounds). It has short legs and a compact body up to 33 cm (13 inches) long. The sparsely haired scaly tail is flattened vertically and can be as long as the body. The eyes are small, and the ears are nearly concealed by fur, which ranges in colour from reddish to blackish brown and consists of a short, soft underfur heavily overlaid with long, stiff, glossy guard hairs. The dense underfur traps air, providing both insulation and buoyancy. Muskrats’ large hind feet, fringed with stiff bristles and partially webbed, are used as oars when swimming, with the tail serving as a rudder. They can stay submerged for up to 20 minutes and swim as fast as 5 km (3.1 miles) per hour. The animal is named for the musky odour of a yellowish substance produced by its perineal glands. Secreted into the urine, the substance is used to mark lodges, pathways, and other landmarks throughout an individual’s home range.
Marshes are the usual habitat of muskrats, but they also live in wooded swamps, lakes, and streams, where they build sizable lodges of cattails, sedges, and other vegetation. They also dig burrows near the water’s edge for shelter, and their burrowing sometimes weakens earthen dams and dikes. Eating mostly grasses and cattails, muskrats consume the roots and stalks of a wide variety of other aquatic plants; they are, however, occasionally predatory, taking freshwater mussels, snails, crustaceans, salamanders, fish, and young birds for food. Females produce one or more litters of three to eight young each year after a gestation period of three to four weeks.
The muskrat’s indigenous geographic range covers most of North America south of the tundra from Alaska to Newfoundland into the southern United States. It does not occur in Florida or coastal parts of Georgia and South Carolina; British Columbia and California have nonnative populations, although Baja California has an indigenous population. In South America the muskrat was introduced into southern Argentina. It is widespread in Eurasia owing to the introduction of several populations during the early 1900s. Historically, the muskrat was trapped for its thick and durable coat, and it is still sought by the fur trade. Muskrat flesh has been sold as “marsh rabbit.”
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The Florida water rat (Neofiber alleni) is sometimes called the round-tailed muskrat. It resembles a small muskrat (up to 38 cm in total length), but its tail is round rather than flat. This animal is less aquatic than Ondatra and lives in the grassy marshes and prairies of Florida and southeastern Georgia. Both belong to the subfamily Arvicolinae of the mouse family (Muridae) within the order Rodentia.