Who's That? - Muskrat and Reflection
by Nikolyn McDonald
Title
Who's That? - Muskrat and Reflection
Artist
Nikolyn McDonald
Medium
Photograph
Description
A muskrat, Ondatra zibethicus, checks out its reflection, probably making sure its face is clean as it has just finished a snack of cattail stems. These semi-aquatic rodents are much smaller than beavers, but often share the same habitat with them. Besides size, noticeable differences are their tails and the way they swim. Muskrats tails are skinnier and flattened vertically while a beaver's is broader and flattened horizontally. A muskrat's entire body is often visible when it swims. Musk-beaver (an old name for them) are related to voles and lemmings and, despite their common name, they are not in the same genus as rats. This one lives in a wetlands area that is part of the Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge in northwestern Missouri. With its mate (and possible young) it has constructed a large house or push-up of aquatic plant vegetation and mud.
Featured: Wildlife
Uploaded
November 28th, 2020
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