Skip to main content
801 Featured Specimen
Muskrat

Details

Muskrat

Ondatra zibethicus

Size
40–70 cm · 0.6–2 kg
Diet
Omnivore
Activity
Crepuscular
Sociality
Loose group
Lifespan

Muskrat is a semiaquatic rodent native to North America that builds grass-and-mud lodges. Its digging and plant cutting can reshape marshes and affect levees in introduced areas.

Range

Habitat range map
Native range Occasional / Transient
PalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearctic

Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)

Details

Habitat

It lives in marshes, ponds, slow rivers, canals, and other freshwater wetlands, with introduced populations in Europe and Asia. Main habitat types in this guide are freshwater, grassland, urban.

Appearance

Typical length 40-70 cm, weight 600 g-2 kg. A laterally flattened tail and dense brown waterproof fur suit it to swimming.

Behavior

It is most active around dawn and dusk and often found in loose groups. It uses grass lodges or bank burrows and swims along wetland edges.

Feeding

It is omnivorous. Aquatic leaves, stems, and roots dominate, with mollusks or small animals taken when available.

Reproduction

It can breed more than once in warm seasons, raising litters inside sheltered nests.

Notes

Although still widespread in places, it remains sensitive to habitat change. Its digging and plant cutting can reshape marshes and affect levees in introduced areas.