6.20.2006

Muskrat Sally...


...or maybe Muskrat Sam. I didn't have a chance to determine gender.

According to Mammals of the Eastern United States, by Whitaker and Hamilton, c. 1998, muskrats get their name "...because of the musky odor produced by the preputial glands...These glands emit a yellowish, rather pleasant-smelling secretion into the urine...The scented urine is then deposited on lodges, along travel routes, in defecation areas, and at other places throught the home range of the lodge owner, as a means of advertisement."

6 comments:

R.Powers said...

Sure is a lot of cuteness here lately.
...beats that scary spider by a mile :)

swamp4me said...

So, should I post the picture of the fuzzy little baby beaver sitting on top of its lodge? ;)

I do have some snake pictures I will be posting later this week. Some readers will not find them to be so cute.

Eddie said...

You have some very good pictures, my wife got me watching your site,she is ky brat, droped a post to say i like them a lot

meresy_g said...

Awww...cute. I've only seen one once. Also elusive. I was delineating a wetland and was standing still, thinking. This muskrat pops out into the stream and becasue I wasn't moving, didn't notice me. I got to watch him for 15 minutes, cleaning himself, and it seemed like just playing. It was so interesting.

Anvilcloud said...

Ah, as in musk. I see.

swamp4me said...

Hi Eddie, glad you stopped by. Tell Brat I said hi!

meresy_g, the muskrats here have been under a lot of pressure from nutria over the past few years. I was delighted to see this one in the swamp on Saturday.

Hey AC, the same lightbulb went off in my head :)