March 25, 1982 - Where Muskrats Ramblet
SECOND SECTION irbe *Uffalh TiMC5 MARCH25,1982
Where Muskrats Ramble
I was down at the end of my dock the
other day just as the early sun touched the
meadows. The air was still cold and damp
but the golden glow that spread from its
warmth seemed to make the coolness
unnoticeable. Most early mornings on our
island are calm and so it was with our
creek waters that morning as the ribbon of
water curved around the bend leading to
the bay.
Off in the distance I could see the
stick -like figure of a great blue heron
checking my presence. To the north,
where the creek banks are steeper along
the water's edge, a muskrat swam leaving
a perfect V wake behind him. Right up the
mirrored water he swam, his tail making a
lazy back and forth rhythmic motion with
the deliberate but quiet paddling of his
legs.
I'd seen these water rats many times
and when a kid I'd trap them for their
pelts. That seems so long ago and so out of
place now. Yet 50 cents a pelt was pretty
good money, particularly when times were
hard and boys didn't have too many
50 -cent pieces to spend.
What the muskrat was doing was prob-
ably going to his favorite feeding ground of
young thatch grass. There tender shoots
have already felt the change in tempera-
ture of the water and have sprung to life.
You can see the chewed remains of the
grass shoots in matted down areas of the
marsh. Often I've seen them swimming
back to their dens trailing stalks of tender
greens, perhaps for their young that are
curled up warmly in their underground
bank dens. When the areas are flat and no
bank affords lodging, the dens are built
above the water level. Many mistake them
for beaver homes but the beaver has long
gone from Long Island.
Underwater Den Openings
The entrances of their dens are always
under water and you can find them quite
TI
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easily at low tide when they are exposed.
Even at high tide you can tell about where
they are by following a swimming musk-
rat. When he comes to the den, he'll upend
and disappear to make his entrance. Some
distance back he'll come up into the tunnel
leading to the dry, dark den.
Today muskrats have few enemies.
Dogs and occasional foxes and raccoons
will dig out a den with muskrat young but
being prolific breeders the muskrats seem
to hold their own.
Even though they are called water rats,
they have none of the bad habits of the
Norway rat. It never ventures into your
home to set up housekeeping nor does it
carry the dreaded diseases that the
common rat is accused of. There are some
who enjoy these muskrats and get a great
deal of pleasure from watching their
antics along the water's edge.
Strong Sense of Territory
Muskrats, like most animals and birds,
have strong territorial instincts and when
their young are old enough to forage for
themselves they are driven off. This
accounts for finding them killed along our
highways. They go out to strike it rich in
some far away land and when busy
exploring, a car or truck comes along and
does them in.
The reason most of us don't see the
muskrat now is that he's a night prowler.
Like the raccoon, opossum, fox and others
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HABITAT - -The muskrat's favorite feeding grounds are creeks like this
where young thatch grass can be found.
Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh
he does much of his work at night.
Occasionally we'll see him out but more
likely we'll see his fresh foot prints in the
mud along the creek giving \evidence that
he was there.
During the winter the muskrat goes into
a semi - hibernation and when the weather
is warm he'll come out and scrounge
about. But on those sub -zero days, he'll be
curled up in a ball sleeping it off. During
these periods his heart slows way down,
conserving his energy and therefore re-
quiring less food.
Years ago the muskrat had to share the
marsh with the mink and weasel. Today
there are only a few of these sleek and
elusive animals. Of the two I can vouch for
the weasel as still being around for just
last week a good friend of mine saw one
down in front of our place by the dock.
So far the muskrat is able to hold its own
given half a chance. The half a chance is
his habitat. Without our marshes both salt
and freshwater, many of nature's wonders
would soon disappear. Thank goodness we
have a wetlands law that is enforceable
locally and should this somehow be cir-
cumvented we always have New York
state's wetlands law ready and willing to
make sure these valuable resources will
always be kept in tact.
PAULSTOUTENBURGH
660600600 ........ 6666. ........
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i :
1
THIS WEEKEND
1
on SPOTLIGHT
1
1
Friday, March 26
1
8:00 "FRISCO KID"
1
Gene Wilder, Harrison Ford
1
Zany Comedy —Western
1
1
Saturday, March 27
1
8:00 "THEHAND" (R)
Michael Caine
1
1
A Psychological Suspense Thriller
1
Sunday, March 28
1
10:00 "POINTER SISTERS"
1
Ruth, Anita & Jane Live from Los Angeles
1
1
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