### animal | vertebrate | mammal | rodent:

Muskrat
* Most muskrats eat animals
  - clams
  - live animals
* Most muskrats have fur
  - tails
  - thin tails
* Some muskrats kill turtles.
* Some muskrats live in burrows on the water banks
  * ' are rodents that live in freshwater and saltwater marshes, lakes, ponds, and streams. Muskrats often build dome-shaped houses in marshes. These houses, made of plants, protect the muskrat from predators, since the only entrance is underwater. Some muskrats live in burrows on the water banks. Muskrats are excellent swimmers but are slow on land
* also benefit from human persecution of some of their predators
  - build feeding platforms in wetlands
  - causle problems by eating crops
  - destroy vegetation along the shoreline which helps prevent wave action erosion
  - eat agricultural crops
  - have a habit of building their homes around dikes
  - make burrows and dens in pond and lake banks
  - prey upon other muskrats
* are a common sight
  - also vulnerable to tularemia, and a variety of internal and external parasites
  - among the easiest furbearers to trap
  - aquatic rodents that use cattail for food as well as material to build their houses
  - basically herbivorous
  - chiefly nocturnal
  - classified as furbearers
* are common and can be found in most wetland locations
  - widely distributed throughout the U.S. and Canada
  - dependent upon habitats including water
  - found over most of Canada and the United States and a small part of northern Mexico
  - highly territorial and aggressive toward each other
  - historically an important item in the fur market
  - mammals
  - most active at night or near dawn and dusk
* are mostly nocturnal and remain active all year
  - nocturnal, but they do appear at times during the day
  - named because of the musk glands located near the underside of their tail
  - often active during the day, as well as night, with peak activites near dawn and dusk
  - one of our most prolific species
  - plentiful and sometime damage the canal banks with their burrowing
  - semi-aquatic and prefer locations with four to six feet of water
  - semi-aquatic, living in marshes, sloughs, streams, rivers, ponds and lakes
  - sexually mature the year following their birth, but few survive long enough to breed
  - somewhat active during the day but most of their activity takes place at night
* are the quintessential mammals of the marsh
  - victims of many predators
  - thought to have one mate during rearing seasons
* are very prolific and can reproduce up to six times per year
  - widespread and abundant
* build throughout the year.
* burrow in the banks.
* can also cause major damage to earthen structures
  - be beneficial in marshmanagement by opening up dense tule stands
  - create problems particularly during periodic populations highs
* cause damage to ditch banks with their burrowing and making of their den.
* communicate by a secretion from their glands called musk
  - musk, which also is used as a warning for intruders
* consume about one-third of their weight every day.
* continue to live in large groups even when they fight amongst themselves
  - grous even when fighting and cannibalism occur in high rates
* create burrows with an underwater entrance.
* eat a variety of food, though, and usually are able to maintain high population levels
  - and build homes from the wild rice vegetation
  - aquatic vegetation and can stay under water for up to five minutes
  - baby ducks and duck eggs
  - shellfish
* eat the basal parts, rhizomes, and leaves of aquatic emergent vegetation
  - stems and foliage
  - whole plant
  - water plants and shellfish
* feed mainly on aquatic vegetation as well as fish, crayfish, and frogs on occasion.
* find shelter in bank burrows and nests that they build.
* get their name from the pair of musk glands located at the base of their tails
  - strong musky odor the males give off during mating time
  - dense fur that traps air underneath for insulation and buoyancy
  - large, robust bodies, with a total body length of twelve and a half inches
  - long teeth, two upper and two lowers
  - several litters each season
  - small eyes and ears
* includes brains
  - breasts
  - cell membranes
  - cells
  - chest cavities
  - chests
  - corpi
  - cytoplasm
  - faces
  - heads
  - nuclei
  - pedal extremities
  - piluses
  - plasma membranes
  - rib cages
  - sections
  - skulls
  - sterna
  - vacuoles
  - vertebrate feet
* keep the duck population down.
* live anywhere there is water, including ditches, ponds, lakes, rivers, etc.
* live in burrows near the water's edge for their food consists of aquatic plants
  - burrows, in mudbanks, or in cone-shaped lodges made of mud or grass
  - houses constructed of vegetation or in burrows dug into banks
  - large family groups with definite territories
  - lodges made of plants or in burrows in the banks of lakes and streams
  - their lodges during the winter, but come out to forage for food
* love to burrow.
* move from pond to pond in the spring and fall
  - slowly on land
* normally live in groups consisting of a male and female pair and their young.
  - mounds of mud and vegetation in shallow wetlands
  - seek out undercut banks for protection while feeding
* prefer to burrow on steep slopes covered with vegetation
  - well-vegetated sloughs and lakes with a fairly stable water level
* produce many young.
* readily fight one another, especially during food shortages.
* spend much of their time in the water and are well suited for their semiaquatic life.
* typically use cattails, other herbaceous plants and mud to build their lodges.
* use cattails to build their houses
* use the entire plant and the seeds are commonly eaten by waterfowl and marsh birds
  - plant, and the seeds are commonly eaten by water fowl and marsh birds
* utilize leaves and stems for houses and eat the rhizomes.
* weigh less than an ounce at birth and grow rapidly, reaching adulthood in less than a year.