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The muskrat or common muskrat ( Ondatra zibethicus) is a medium-sized semiaquatic rodent native to North America and an introduced species in parts of Europe, Asia, and South America.
The muskrat is found in over various climates and habitats. It has crucial effects on the ecology of wetlands, and is a resource of food and fur for humans.
Adult muskrats weigh , with a body length (excluding the tail) of . They are covered with short, thick fur of medium to dark brown color. Their long tails, covered with scales rather than hair, are laterally compressed and generate a small amount of thrust, with their webbed hind feet being the main means of propulsion, and the unique tail mainly important in directional stability. Muskrats spend most of their time in the water and can swim underwater for 12 to 17 minutes. They live in families of a male and female pair and their young. They build nests to protect themselves from the cold and predators, often burrowed into the bank with an underwater entrance. Muskrats feed mostly on cattail and other aquatic vegetation but also eat small animals.
Ondatra zibethicus is the only extant taxon species in the genus Ondatra; its closest relative is the round-tailed muskrat ( Neofiber alleni). It is the largest species in the subfamily Arvicolinae, which includes 142 other species of rodents, mostly and . Muskrats are referred to as "" in a general sense because they are medium-sized rodents with an Adaptation lifestyle and an Omnivore diet. They are not members of the genus Rattus. They are not closely related to , with which they share habitat and general appearance.
Similarly, its specific name zibethicus means "musky", being the adjective of zibethus "civet musk; civet". The genus name comes from the Wyandot language word for the animal, ondathra, and entered Neo-Latin as Ondatra via French. Unabridged
Muskrats are covered with short, thick fur, which is medium to dark brown or black, with the belly a bit lighter (Countershading); as the animal ages, it turns partly gray. The fur has two layers, which protect it from cold water. They have long tails covered with scales rather than hair. To aid in swimming, their tails are slightly flattened vertically, a shape that is unique to them. When they walk on land, their tails drag on the ground, which makes their tracks easy to recognize.
Muskrats spend most of their time in water and are well suited to their semiaquatic life. They can swim underwater for 12 to 17 minutes. Their bodies, like those of Earless seal and , are less sensitive to the buildup of carbon dioxide than those of most other mammals. They can close off their ears to keep water out. Their hind feet are partially webbed and are their primary means of propulsion. Their tail functions as a rudder, controlling the direction they swim.
Their populations naturally cycle; in areas where they become abundant, they can remove much of the vegetation in wetlands. They are thought to play a major role in determining the vegetation of prairie wetlands in particular. (1989). 9780813800370, Iowa State University Press. ISBN 9780813800370 They also selectively remove preferred plant species, thereby changing the abundance of plant species in many kinds of wetlands. Species commonly eaten include Typha and yellow water lily. Alligators are thought to be an important natural predator, and the absence of muskrats from Florida may, in part, be the result of alligator predation. (2025). 9780520258921, University of California Press. ISBN 9780520258921
While much wetland habitat has been eliminated due to human activity, new muskrat habitat has been created by the construction of or irrigation channels (e.g., ), and the muskrat remains widespread. They can live alongside streams that contain the water that drains away from coal mines. Fish and frogs perish in such streams, yet muskrats may thrive and occupy the wetlands. Muskrats also benefit from human persecution of some of their predators.
The muskrat is classed as a "prohibited new organism" under New Zealand's Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996, preventing it from being imported into the country.
The Trematoda Metorchis conjunctus can also infect muskrats.
]] Ondatra zibethicus has 16 subspecies: O.z. albus, O.z. aquihnis, O.z. bemardi, O.z. cinnamominus, O.z. macrodom, O.z. mergens, O.z. obscurus, O.z. occipitalis, O.z. osoyoosensis, O.z. pallidus, O.z.ripensis, O.z. rivalicus, O.z. roidmani, O.z. spatulatus, O.z. zalaphus and O.z. zibethicus.
Muskrats are most active at night or near dawn and dusk. They feed on cattails and other aquatic vegetation. They do not store food for the winter, but sometimes eat the insides of their push-ups. While they may appear to steal food beavers have stored, more seemingly cooperative partnerships with beavers exist, as featured in the BBC David Attenborough wildlife documentary The Life of Mammals. Plant materials compose about 95% of their diets, but they also eat small animals, such as freshwater , , crayfish, fish, and small . Muskrats follow trails they make in swamps and ponds. They continue to follow their trails under the ice when the water freezes.
Muskrats provide an important food resource for many other animals, including mink, Red fox and , , , wolf, Eurasian lynx, Canada lynx, , , brown bear and black bears, , , , large , , , and . , snapping turtles, , , large fish such as Esox and largemouth bass, and predatory land reptiles such as monitor lizards prey on baby muskrats. Reindeer, moose, and elk sometimes feed on the vegetation which makes up muskrat push-ups during the winter when other food is scarce for them. In their introduced range in the former Soviet Union, the muskrat's greatest predator is the golden jackal. They can be completely eradicated in shallow water bodies. During the winter of 1948–49 in the Amu Darya (river in central Asia), muskrats constituted 12.3% of jackal feces contents, and 71% of muskrat houses were destroyed by jackals, 16% of which froze and became unsuitable for muskrat occupation. Jackals also harm the muskrat industry by eating muskrats caught in traps or taking skins left out to dry. (1998). 9781886106819, Science Publishers. ISBN 9781886106819
Muskrats, like most rodents, are prolific breeders. Females can have two or three litters a year of six to eight young each. The babies are born small and hairless and weigh only about . In southern environments, young muskrats mature in six months, while in colder northern environments, it takes about a year. Muskrat populations appear to go through a regular pattern of rise and dramatic decline spread over a six- to ten-year period. Some other rodents, including famously the muskrat's close relatives, such as the lemmings, go through the same type of population changes.
In several Native American , the muskrat dives to the bottom of the primordial sea to bring up the mud from which the earth is created after other animals have failed in the task.
Muskrats have sometimes been a food resource for North Americans. In the southeastern portion of Michigan, a longstanding dispensation allows Catholics to consume muskrat as their Friday penance, on Ash Wednesday, and on Fridays (when the eating of flesh, except for fish, is prohibited); this tradition dates back to at least the early 19th century. In 2019, it was reported that a series of muskrat dinners were held during Lent in the areas along the Detroit River, with up to 900 muskrats being consumed at a single dinner. The preparation involved the removal of the musk glands and the gutting and cleaning of the carcass before the meat was for four hours with onion and garlic and finally fried.
Muskrat fur is warm, becoming prime in northern North America at the beginning of December. In the early 20th century, the trapping of the animal for its fur became an important industry there. During that era, the fur was specially trimmed and dyed to be sold widely in the US as "Hudson seal" fur.
In some European countries, such as Belgium, France, and the Netherlands, the muskrat is considered an invasive pest, as its burrowing damages the dikes and on which these low-lying countries depend for protection from flooding. In those countries, it is trapped, poisoned, and hunted to attempt to keep the population down. Muskrats also eat maize and other farm and garden crops growing near water bodies.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police winter hats are made from muskrat fur.
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