Swimming Muskrat
Native to North America, muskrats are semi-aquatic rodents named for their musky smell and rat-like appearance. They are found in most of Canada and the United States, as well as some parts of Northern Mexico where they inhabit extremely variable habitats and altitudes. Muskrats are always associated with wetlands, whether that is a lake, swamp, pond, river, etc. Although the common name contains the word "rat", it is taxonomically just a very large, semi-aquatic vole, and not related to any rat species. This one was found swimming near the shore of Tule Lake in Northern California, near the Oregon border.
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- ©2017
- Image Size
- 6717x4483 / 10.1MB
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- Keywords
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Animalia, Arvicolinae, California, Chordata, Cricetidae, Mammalia, March, Muroidea, NWR, National Wildlife Refuge, O. zibethicus America, Ondatra, Ondatra zibethicus, Ondatrini, Rodentia, Siskiyou County, Tulelake, Tulelake National Wildlife Refuge, USA, United States, animal, arid, dry, fauna, fur, furry, geology, mammal, muskrat, native, natural, nature, rodent, semiaquatic, vertebrate, wild, wildlife, winter, zoology
- Contained in galleries
- Rats, Mice, Voles and Muskrats (Cricetids)