A large, semi-aquatic rodent of North American wetlands with thick brown fur and a scaly, flattened tail used as a rudder. It lives in families in bank burrows or mounds of vegetation called push-ups, and has become an invasive pest in Europe.
Quick answers
What is it?Mammal
Carnivore?Omnivore
Dangerous?No
Domesticated?No
Awake when?Night
Most active at night and around dawn and dusk.
Hibernates?No
Kept as a pet?No
Do people eat it?In places
Eaten in parts of North America; in south-east Michigan Catholics are allowed to eat it on Lenten Fridays.
At a glance
Found inNorth America, Europe, Asia, South America
HabitatWetland, Rivers & lakes
ColoursBrown, Black
SizeSmall
Length40–70 cm, about half of it tail
Weight0.6–2 kg
Legs4
Covered inFur
Lives infamilies
Lives for3–4 years
Can swim
In the wild
- Where it lives
- Most of Canada and the US and a small part of northern Mexico; introduced to Europe, northern Asia and parts of South America.
- What it eats
- About 95% plants, mainly cattails and water lilies, plus mussels, frogs, crayfish, fish and small turtles.
Did you know
Can stay underwater for up to 17 minutes, steering with its flat, scaly tail.
In the Netherlands and Belgium its burrowing damages the dikes that hold back floods.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police winter hats are made from muskrat fur.
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