Last night, I had let 4 of our pooches outside for their last “outside time” before bed.
All of a sudden, I heard them barking out of control. It wasn’t the usual “far off” bark when they see a cat in another yard…
It was of imminent danger and upset!
I ran outside to see them encircling this poor little animal behind a flower pot.
I quickly scolded them enough to get them into the house.
I realize they were just protecting our yard, but I wanted to save this poor, little soul.
Isn’t he cute?
Well, I believe he’s a muskrat and this photo doesn’t do him justice. His fur was more caramel in color than what is shown here.
He was so cute, and obviously, well fed. He was plump and his coat was in great looking condition.
Here’s the other side of him showing his rope-like tail, typical for muskrats.
Apparently, we have a number of them in our neighborhood, come to learn on Facebook, as one of my friends’ brother has a dog that attacked and killed one in their yard in our area.
I was worried they may have hurt him, as you see his little paw up and out on the first photo, but he literally froze for at least 1 hr. He didn’t move an inch.
However, when we turned all the lights off, he was sure to sneak off. Not that I wouldn’t enjoy seeing more of him, my dogs wouldn’t. So, I hope for his sake he learned not to come into our yard again.
This is the first time I’ve ever seen a wild muskrat.
I was trying to figure out why they would be over here in our area, and came to realize we have a pond a few blocks away and a overflow pond less than 1 block away, that I didn’t know was there…So, I suppose it makes sense they may be in our area here.
Such a shame that human encroachment is such a problem for so many animal species…
What wild animals do you have around your neighborhood?
Scientific Classification:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Superfamily: Muroidea
Family: Cricetidae
Subfamily: Arvicolinae
Tribe: Ondatrini
Genus: Ondatra
Species: O. zibethicus
Muskrats are not an endangered species…Awesome!
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I hope you enjoyed this Mammal post on Exotic Animal Lover! Until next time…
Live Exotically,
Kimberly Edwards 
Technorati Tags: muskrat, mammals, Canadian animals, rodent, marine animals
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You done well here Kim to save the Muskrat from the hounds… If the Muskrat made a break for it the dogs would have surely killed it… Do you get much wildlife in your gardens…??
Hi Stephen…
Actually, we get quite a bit of wildlife here still…
This was the first muskrat, but the pooches have caught 2 rabbits this winter, lots of birds…
We’ve also trapped some skunks and raccoons to relocate to a wooded area nearby…
However, the squirrels vex the dogs the most, I think! LOL…
How about you? Where do you live and what kind of wildlife do you get?
Kimberly
i dont think muskrats are all that cute anymore…….one bit my dog and almost killed her.
Oh my goodness, Maggie…
Really? Is your dog alright now? What kind of pooch do you have? What happened???
Have you checked out my website for terrier lovers?
Kimberly