Muskrats (Ondatra zibethicus) love to swim, as I’ve noticed when I’ve seen them on Staten Island, at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, and Lido Beach Passive Nature Area on Long Island, among other places. They have the “naked” tail of the city rat, but are much, much cuter!
Muskrat, Lido Beach Passive Nature Area, Long Island, June 29, 2019
The Muskrats on a Mission video covers sightings of muskrats from 2017 through March 2021, and features Muskrat Ramble by Edward ‘Kid’ Ory, composed in 1924 and recorded by Louis Armstrong in 1926, and a piano version recorded by Woody Regan in 2021. Scott Joplin’s Maple Leaf Rag also accompanies the video, played by Stefano Ligoratti. I found the muskrats on Staten Island, at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Queens, at New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, and at Lido Beach Passive Nature Area on Long Island.
Muskrat, Lido Beach Passive Nature Area, Long Island, June 29, 2019
The muskrats in this slideshow were seen on Staten Island (Oakwood Beach, April 21, 2018, and Clove Lakes Park, March 10, 2021), at Lido Beach Passive Nature Area on Long Island (July 9, 2019), and Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, Queens (August 28, 2017).
