Prairie Muskrats in Saskatchewan

Muskrat near Chaplin, Saskatchewan © SB  

Today, a few photographs of muskrats from my files.

These furry mammals with their long front teeth and freaky bony fingers are common in prairie sloughs and creeks, where they glide silently through murky water, swishing their leathery black tails.

The photos here of muskrats are all from early spring, when ice folded at the edges of the water, and packed snow lined the creeks. 

The first two pictures —  muskrat facing left, and the same muskrat swimming — were taken near the lake south of Chaplin, Saskatchewan, at the end March. Warm weather came late this year and that's ice on the bank, not sand. 

The third picture, of a muskrat eating a submerged reed, was also taken in late March — and chunks of ice are obvious around the muskrat's feet. 

Muskrat near Chaplin swimming in the creek.   © SB   

Early Spring. Muskrat at Valeport Marsh, Saskatchewan © SB  

What are these animals? Muskrats
Location: #1 and #2: South of Chaplin, Saskatchewan; #3: Valeport Marsh, near Craven, Saskatchewan. 

Photo date: #1 and #2: March 31, 2012; #3: March 25, 2012. 

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Spring: Muskrats in Wascana Creek

Muskrat: Wascana Creek, Regina © SB

Regina, Saskatchewan: A pair of muskrats swim in Wascana Creek near the city centre. They surface around a cluster of branches and sticks that perhaps hide the entrance to their den, burrowed into the bank.

One muskrat is cinnamon in tone, with the hint of a bandit mask beside the eyes. (Let's call her the female.) Her fur seems dry and fluffy as she floats along. Above the water, her tail... that thick bullwhip tail.

Muskrat: Crossing the creek.  © SB  

The other muskrat is darker. Sleek and very wet. He crosses the stream to our side and swims along the shore, heading away from us. I run back to get in front, to get this muskrat's picture.

Muskrat Love.

Captain and Tennille sang that, though my guess is most of us old enough to remember, remember only the odd title. Not the even odder words: Muskrat Suzie, Muskrat Sam, Do the jitterbug in Muskrat Land...  

Why the jitterbug? Why not the crawl? Or the sleek muskrat slide across the creek?

Sticks and branches: The muskrat den? 
She is swimming in front.  © SB  

The tail, the tail -- the muskrat's scaly tail.  © SB   

Meet the eyes of the wild things...
They, too, have a place on this earth. 

What are these?  .A pair of muskrats in Wascana Creek.     

Location: Near Kiwanis Park, east of the Elphinstone Bridge (pix taken from north/east side of creek), Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.   
Photo dates: March 18, 2012. 

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