Swamp Bunny

As I'm always saying, my job is great because I get the most unusual phone calls and emails about nature and many of them make me interested enough to do some research. This week I got an email with a picture of an animal in the water. The emailer wondered if it was a beaver or a muskrat. He thought it probably was a muskrat and wondered if they are dangerous because his dog is a water dog and is always very curious about them. From the picture, I too was pretty sure it was a muskrat.

We have muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) here at Tanglewood in our pond and they are amusing to watch. They have adaptations for their aquatic lifestyle that are pretty neat. Their nostrils are in the shape of the number seven which allows them to inhale remaining oxygen from recently exhaled breath. This enables them to swim underwater for up to 15 minutes. Another adaptation gave them their name. They have glands underneath their tail from which they secrete musk to warn other muskrats away from their territory. This type of communication between these little guys keeps the amount of muskrats in an area to a number that enables them to survive without food or space constraints.

But what about them being dangerous...? Well, apparently muskrats have several endearing nicknames, including the marsh rat. OK, that name's not so endearing, but they are also called the swamp bunny in some areas.

Swamp bunny?!! How could something with the nickname swamp bunny be dangerous? Not only are they not dangerous, they actually can serve a good purpose, even though they are a rodent, animals with generally bad reputations. Muskrats help maintain open areas in marshes by using cattails for food and for their lodges, this space left by clearing cattails helps to provide habitat for aquatic birds. Good job, Swamp Bunny!

There you have it, one email and I appreciate muskrats a bit more. Thanks Pat!