Wildlife Removal Services Inc.

Muskrat

Biology:   Muskrats can live almost any place water and food are available year round.  This includes streams, ponds, lakes, marshes, canals, roadside ditches, and wetland areas.  If ample vegetation is available, they construct houses.  Elsewhere they prefer dens and may have both.

Mating Habits:   Mating usually takes place while submerged.  This may occur from September through March.  Two to three litters per female per year is average.

Gestation Period:   Approximately 25 – 30 days is normal.

Birthing Times:   October through April with most young produced in the winter months.

Litter Size:   May contain as many as 15 young, but 4 – 8 is average size.

Life Span:  May live as long as 4 years in the wild.

Foods:  Primarily herbivores, muskrats will eat almost any aquatic vegetation as well as some field crops.  These crops include corn, soybeans, wheat, oats, grain sorghum, and sugarcane.  If vegetation is scarce, they may eat crayfish, mussels, turtles, frogs, and fish in ponds.

Hibernation:   Muskrats do not hibernate, but are active year round.

Legal Status:  Not protected by federal law, but state & local regulations may apply.

Catch & Release Status:  It is ILLEGAL to release this or any animal on the land(s) of another without written permission from the landowner.  This is the LAW in the state of Ohio.