Muskrats
***The mammal I'm going to talk
about is a muskrat. They're also pond mammals. They can hold
their breath for up to 15 minutes and they have webbed feet so
it makes it easier to live at the pond.
***Muskrats build dens in the water
with an underwater entrance. They make these dens by burrowing.
Their dens are made out of packed mud and twigs. Inside it is
dry and has nesting supplies. They are small mammals, their length
ranges around 27-37 inches and weight ranges around 1-4 pounds.
But they have big heads, small ears, and short legs. It's bad
for predators to eat them, because they carry rabies. They eat
many things like roots, crayfish, frogs, snails, cattails, bulrush,
and many others.
***Now about their babies. They
are really called kits. They have up to two litters a year mainly
in May and August. Kits can swim even when their eyes aren't
open. Muskrats are not very social. They have brownish-black
fur others may be black, albino, and a pale tan. They also have
flat long tails that are flat, scaly and can be up to 20 centimeters
long. That's some things about muskrats.
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