Muskrats are one of the most valuable furbearers in Wisconsin in present day. They are small, brown-furred aquatic rodents with scaly tails. Muskrats build feed beds, or loose rafts of vegetation, that they sit on in order to eat the aquatic vegetation they prefer. They build “houses” that they live and raise their young in, which are piles of mud, sticks, grass, cattails and other aquatic vegetation with chambers inside, or they live in dens dug into banks. In a good habitat with excellent food resources, they can breed up to four times a year and can have anywhere between 1-11 young per litter. Young muskrats are on their own in 3-4 weeks and can be sexually mature at six months of age. Muskrats may be harvested during a regulated season in the winter with the appropriate license.
