What looks like a groundhog but has a long tail?

The tail is a distinctive identifier of this species because it is rat like, but flattened from side to side, rather than round. An adult weighs about 3 to 4 pounds. Young muskrats reproduce after 10 to 12 months. The groundhog typically measures 16 to 26 inches long, including a 6-inch tail and weighing 4 to 9 lbs.

Can groundhogs have long tails?

Like other squirrels, groundhogs have long tails that grow around 7 to 9.75 in (18 to 25 cm) long. These round creatures look like little bears when they stand up on their hind legs.

What other animal looks like a groundhog?

woodchuck, there are a few other similar-looking and acting animals to groundhogs. These include prairie dogs, marmots, badgers, or even beavers.

Is a muskrat the same as a groundhog?

Both species typically have brown fur and stocky, muscular builds. However, muskrats are much smaller and may range in color from white to black. In addition, muskrats’ hairless, scaly tails distinguish them from woodchucks, which have tails that are thick, short, and furry.

Whats a ground hog look like?

What Do Groundhogs Look Like? Adult groundhogs range anywhere from 16 to 22 inches in length and weigh anywhere between five and 13 pounds. Their bodies are compact and chunky, and covered in brownish gray fur with a short tail.

What is a squirrel tail?

A squirrel’s tail is much more than a fashion accessory. It serves 3 main functions that enable the squirrel to survive: protection, balance and communication. For example a squirrel can wrap its tail over its body to protect itself from the rain or snow. … During the summer squirrels can use their tail to keep cool.

What does muskrat look like?

The muskrat can look like a beaver with brown fur and partially webbed-hind feet, but look for its long (8-10 inch), narrow, flattened, hairless, rat-like tail. Muskrats are also about half the size of a beaver, measuring 18-25 inches long. … If there are too many muskrats in an area, they can “eat out” all the plants.

What is the difference between a muskrat and a rat?

Rats live primarily on land and prefer to build their nests underground, in trees or in elevated areas within buildings. Muskrats, on the other hand, are aquatic and prefer to live in the wetlands. … Muskrats have thicker tails than rats and can survive longer underwater.

What kind of tail does a muskrat have?

Beaver tails are wide, flat and paddle-shaped, while muskrats have long, skinny tails with flat sides. You can usually see a muskrat’s whole body when it is swimming.

How do you identify a muskrat?

Beaver, Muskrat and Nutria Identification
  1. Broad (horizontally flattened) and almost hairless tail.
  2. Length is between 39 and 47 inches.
  3. They weigh between 35 and 50 pounds or more.
  4. Fur color appears reddish brown to black.
  5. Each foot has five digits.
  6. The hind feet have webbing, but the front do not.

What is a major disease that can infect a muskrat?

Tularemia is a potentially nasty disease caused by the bacterium Francisella tularensis. While not many people have contact with muskrats or live in Long Point, it’s still noteworthy.

What do muskrat lodges look like?

Muskrat lodges resemble beaver lodges, but are usually much smaller (up to eight feet high, and four feet wide) and are made of vegetation, not sticks, like beaver lodges. Most lodge construction occurs in May and early June, and again in October. Typically they are built in no more than two feet of water.

What family is a muskrat in?

Cricetidae
Muskrat/Family

How do you tell the difference between a nutria and a muskrat?

Muskrats have thin, scaly tails that are flat on the sides. On the other hand, nutria tails are rounded, hairy, and rat-like. Nutria use foliage to make beds and dig volleyball-sized dens in ditches and river banks. Muskrats build mounds of plants and mud with underground entrances.

What is the difference between a mink and a muskrat?

Unlike muskrats, mink are tough to find because they’re solitary and mostly active at night. … With their oily fur, webbed feet, and ability to dive up to 16′ deep, minks are equally adapted to hunting on land or in water.

Do snakes eat muskrats?

What eats them? Muskrats have many predators. Their size makes them a perfect meal for raccoons, otters, red foxes, owls, hawks, American Bald Eagles, snapping turtles, bullfrogs, snakes, and largemouth bass.

How do you tell the difference between a muskrat and an otter?

Muskrats are medium sized rodents that measure 1-2 feet long, while river otters are 2-4 times longer than a muskrat. Additionally, the tails of muskrats are small, slender, and can appear scaled from a distance, while otter tails are longer, thicker, and visibly furred.

How do you tell the difference between a muskrat and a beaver?

Both animals do have long tails, with beavers’ measuring 10 inches to 13 inches and muskrats measuring 7 inches to 12 inches, the fish and wildlife service reports. However, beaver tails are much wider — usually 3.5 inches to 8 inches wide — while muskrat tails are thin and rat-like.

Is a muskrat a rat?

Muskrats are large rodents, and therefore are related to rats, mice, voles, gerbils, hamsters and lemmings. These aquatic animals look a lot like their relatives. They are quite round, with short legs and almost invisible ears.

Do muskrats eat ducklings?

A long-time friend of mine believes that a muskrat would eat baby ducklings. … Muskrats are not cowardly and have been known to fight to the death. They have been known to even attack a man when cornered from a place of refuge.

Where do muskrats sleep?

They sleep, rest, and seek shelter in their lodges and burrows. Muskrats built two types of homes for them to rest. They dig a tunnel near the riverbank, slightly raised from the water level. They also build dome-shaped lodges made from tree stumps, mud, plants, and aquatic vegetation.