MUSKRAT
MUSKRAT
Characteristics: Although appearing stocky and even cumbersome on land, this 2.5-pound rodent is well-suited to an aquatic environment. The front legs are short and heavily clawed for feeding and digging, and the powerful partially web-footed hind legs help in swimming. The muskrat has a naked tail which is flattened vertically. The underfur is virtually waterproof and provides buoyancy for effortless swimming.
I take that life if I can, with regret as well as joy, and with the sure knowledge that nature’s ways of fang and claw or exposure and starvation are a far crueler fate than I bestow. – Fred Bear