Updated 04-May-2020.
Mondo shtuff from around the internet, all about MUSKRAT!
My botty best at summarizing from Wikipedia: the muskrat is a medium-sized semiaquatic rodent native to north America . it is an introduced species in parts of parts of Europe, Asia, and south america . Muskrats are referred the genus name comes from the Huron word for the animal, ondathra, and entered New Latin as Ondatra via French . that is about four times the weight of the brown rat (R Muskrats are covered with short, thick fur, which is medium to dark brown or black in color . the fur has two layers, which help protect them from the cold water . they have long tails covered with scales rather seals and whales can swim under water for 12 to 17 minutes . their bodies are less sensitive to the buildup of carbon dioxide . they can close off their ears to keep the water out . round-tailed muskrat, or Florida water rat, are not found in Florida . they are thought to play a major role in determining vegetation of prairie wetlands . species commonly eaten include cattail the absence of muskrats from Florida may in part be the result of alligator predation . john avlon: the absence may be a result of human activity destroying wetland Muskrat families build nests to protect themselves and their young from cold and predators . in streams, ponds, or lakes, muskrats burrow into bank with underwater entrance . push-ups constructed from some muskrat push-ups are swept away in spring floods and have to be replaced each year . Muskrats also build feeding platforms in wetlands . they help maintain open areas in marshes, which beavers feed on cattail and other aquatic vegetation . they do not store food for the winter, but sometimes eat the insides of their push-ups . more seemingly cooperative partnerships with beaver exist . when the water freezes, they continue to follow their trails under the ice . Muskrats provide an important food resource for many other animals . caribou and elk sometimes feed on the vegetation which makes up muskrats constituted 12.3% of jackal faeces contents in the amu darya . 71% of houses were destroyed by jackals in the winter of 1948–49 . mus Muskrat populations appear to go through a regular pattern of rise and dramatic decline . some predict winter snowfall levels by observing the size and timing of muskrat lodge construction . muskrat fur was dyed to be sold widely in the us as “Hudson seal” fur . the fur was introduced at that time to Europe as a fur resource . in some European countries, the mus Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 23 March 2006.