March 10, 1963 - MuskratMuskrat
Exclusive Sunday Review sketch by Dennis Puleston of Brookhaven
Focus on Nature by Paul Stoutenburgh, Cutchogue
Most everyone knows the musk-
rat from his characteristic dome-
shaped home but few, I am
afraid, would recognize li'm first
Stand. Of course, there are al-
ways the more fortunate ones who
have spied on this wetland dwel-
ler and been fascinated by his
agile swimming and diving abil-
ity.
He can get around on land quite
well but if he had a choice of
'walk or swim' he'd alway take
the latter. This is not surprising
for he has been especially equip-
ped to do this aquatic job. P o w -
e r f u l swimming legs, with t h e
added feature of partially webbed
hind feet combined with the vert-
ically flat tail that acts as a
rudder, makes him the , ohnny
Weissmuller of the marshlands.
Seeing the muskrat at leisure
in his natural habitat is one of
our many rewards for venturing
out -of- doors. The best time for
observing him is early in the
morning or .just before dark when
the wind settles down and the
water has lost its ripple. Often I
have watched them quietly swim-
ming about — visiting first one
clump of weeds and then another
— or if particularly pleased with
a certain tid -bit one might drag
it off in the direction of his den
and promptly submerge before it.
All approaches'to muskrats' dens
are underwater and I often see
these along the bank when the
water is clear or sometimes when
partially exposed by a dead low
tide.
Here on Long Island many of
our muskrats live in the brackish
tidal ends of our creeks or around
its borders. Others seem to set -
tle for just about any place
that's wet, salt or fresh. Our par-
ticular family has taken up resi-
dence along the bank of a slug-
gish run -down man -made water-
way. The sphagmites has taken
ove- the up'and side of the creek
and it is along here that the dens
are located. T h e s e underwater
passageways, that I mentioned
previously, lead up into the cozy
dry den well above water level.
This general layout also applies
to the dome - shaped mounds that
we so often associate with the
muskrat. These dwellings a r e
made up of vegetable matter,
worked in well with quantities of
mud. All are. designed with one
purpose in mind ... to supply a win-
ter home safe from the many
predators and the ravages of win-
ter.
Oftentimes the summer home
of the muskrat is completely dif-
ferent and overlooked by the cas-
ual observer. Only a grass form
is required for the easy living
of this seaso f. To keep the bal-
ance of nature intact the muskrat
population is often harassed by
find and storm ... many a home
has been destroyed during these
periods. When 'the ice and snow
of winter come and particularly
during cold snaps, such as we
have had this year, m u s k r at
homes and areas are frozen solid
and the rats are forced out to
seek additional food.
Seeing the muskrat does n o t
hibernate but remains a c t i v e
throughout the winter, he is very
vulnerable, not only to the ele-
ments, but to the many preda-
tors such as owls, hawks, f o x,
dogs ... and probably the most dan-
gerous ... the mink. Proof of the
continual harassment these ani-
mals go through was my exper-
ience upstate one year when pho-
tographing b l a c k terns in a
swampy area. All the muskrat
homes, and there were many, had
been ravaged by some animal.
Being curious, I looked around
and finally found the cluprit's
footprints in the mud — a rac-
coon had opened the top'of each
den and massacred what was
there. Many escaped, I am sure,
through the underwater passage-
ways but I am also sure that
some of the innocent fell prey.
But then again, isn't this all a
part of the workings of this mys-
terious world we live in?
On top of all the problems that
seem to confront the muskrat, he
himself proves one of the great-
est for often the muskrats will
wander far from home. Perhaps
he gets pushed out of an over-
crowded area, or the food supply
dwindles too low or perhaps he
just wanders with a touch of
spring in his heart. Whatever
urges him on, urges him also
to his end. .
Sometimes he appears in a
neighbor's backyard or maybe he
is seen wandering down a busy
village street. Wherever it is, if
it is away from '.tome and his
escape to water, he is most vul-
nerable. Yet with all these draw-
backs and the continual attack
on his life his race somehow
seems to survive. Very prolific,
having two or three broods a year
with from three to 12 young, he
holds -his own very well -in our
modern society.
Years ago the trapping pres-
sure on the Island was v e r y
great and every creek end had
its trapper. Whether it be some
school boy who earned a f e w
extra dollars or a semi-profes-
sional, these people covered our
wetlands with traps. They were
the hardy ones for it meant get-
ting up well before dawn and
groping their way across the wet
and slippery pothole marshes,
through ice and snow and rain
to tend the traps. Should they let
their traps go for any length of
time the catch would soon be
gone as the muskrat would often
chew his own leg off to' escape.
At one time the price of furs
was worth all this trouble, but
today the price of furs is down;
not because of the quality but
because of the modern means that
outdate our local trapping. Mus-
krat pelts are one of the highest
dollar crops in the fur business
today in the United States with
Louisiana being the largest pro-
ducer. The fus is extremely fine
and waterproof near the s k i n
which provides the; warmth dur-
ing the winter months and pro-
tection from the *et. .When sub-
merged. Above? this finei hair is
a coarser and longer hair that
guards the .finer hair. This guard
hair takes all the abuse ate rub-
bing when waddling through bur-
rows and, into dens. WINn the
inner fur is processed ar'V dyed
by the furrier a beautiful f u r
called Hudson seal is produced.
The muskrat gets his name
from the perineal' gland's that pro-
duce a powerful musty odor. To
most it is not overly objectionable
and is in no way life the skunk.
Down South and surely in some
places right here on Lang Island,
the flesh of the muskrat is eaterr.
In the markets it is called marsh
hare and why not. Most of its
foal, like the rabbits, is made
UP of vegetable matter with an
occasional side dish of fish or
clams.
In looks the muskrat is much
like its close relative, the mea-
dow mouse, but of course is much
larger. One species or another
is found in just about every place
in North America easily assessi-
ble to water. Even in the Great
Salt Lake area some species are
able to eek out a living.
And so we see on again some-
thing that sounds so common
place to all of us often goes un-
observed by most. Yet to those
who have the key to Nature's
inside world this becomes another
fascinating window of adventure.
FIELD OBSERVATIONS
Kathryn Fleet reports:
Cutchogue — March 2
Grosbeaks (11)
Dennis Puleston reports:
Brookhaven — March 14
Pine Siskins (10)
Dennis Puleston` and Walter Terry
report:
Centereach — March 2
Tufted Titmouse' (3)
Coopers Hawk
Upper Yaphank Lake — March 2
Whistling Swan • (2)
Seton Hall Pond, Patchogue —
March 2
Shovelers (2)
Gadwvall (50)
Montauk — March 3
Evening Grosbeak
Common Eider (23)
Continued on Page 7M
Cutchogue — March 3
Evening Grosbeak (12)
Louis Raymond, III, Douglas Rog
ers, Jr and Judd Bennett report:
East Marion — March 2
Harlequins'
Water Pipits (20)
Orient. Point — March 3
European Cormorant
Snow Buntings -,(20)
Horned Larks (50)
Ha ,,quips (2)
Lapland Longspur
Orient State Park — March 3
Myrtle Warbler' (2)
Evening Grosbeak (4)
Putple Finch (5)
Judd Bennett reports:
East Marion — March 5
Evenlng Grosbeak (10)
Hermit Thrush '
Old Squaw (10)
Mrs Corwin Grathwohl reports