ASST 1002 Chapter : Muskrat
Document Summary
What to look for: color reddish brown, except for light gray belly; tail black, scaly, vertically flattened. Habitat: marshes, ponds, lakes, slow streams with reeds and cattails. This aquatic mammal persists despite the widespread drainage of marshes, for it can survive in a variety of wetland habitats. Its versatile diet is also an asset; though it feeds mainly on aquatic plants, it also eats snails, clams, crayfish, and frogs and may travel hundreds of feet from water to harvest land plants. It reproduces rapidly: several litters a year, each with up to 11 young.
