The hind feet are partially webbed. Distribution and abundance. Although it is one of the most abundant, commercial furbearers in Missouri, it never has been as common here as in some other parts of its range. The construction of thousands of farm ponds throughout the state during the past 40 years has accounted for an appreciable increase in muskrat numbers and distribution. Habitat and home.
Muskrats are semi-aquatic, living in marshes, sloughs, streams, rivers, ponds and lakes.
Here they dig homes in a stream or pond bank or build large houses out of vegetation in the shallow water. The nest, or den, is reached by means of a tunnel which usually opens under water. In addition to building homes, muskrats often undertake other construction. Platforms for resting and feeding are made of mud and vegetation, and sometimes jetties are built for landing places along marshy shores. The area an individual occupies depends to a certain extent upon the size and shape of the water area in which it lives.