The Muskrat Council was upset by my post yesterday suggesting that the little rodents don’t engineer their environment as much as some might think. There was even objection on the beaver management facebook group where one muskrat believer posted a host of research arguing that muskrat alter the invertebrates of the watershed and provoke changes.

Okay. I’m willing to attest that muskrat varied diet results in muskrat droppings that contain fertilizers that change rivers. And I admit that sometimes swans nest on their little reed huts to lay their eggs in safety. Will that suffice? Yesterday the muskrat appreciation lobby was feeling so threatened by my post that they released this report:

Chewing underwater and the many feats of the magnificent muskrat

Can you close your lips behind your teeth? No, you can’t. Because you’re not a muskrat. Bet you can’t close your ears when you dive underwater either. There’s a lot more to the magnificent muskrat than meets the beady little eye. So much so that this is part one of a two-part series wherein Martha Foley and Dr. Curt Stager talk about muskrats.

Timing is everything. Let me know the name of your publicist, muskrats. Because we could use someone like you on our side.

In the meantime I’m just going to carry on appreciating the creatures we believe are worth a dam and post this lovely video by Sheri Harstein documenting her work with the sierra beavers.Turn the sound up and make sure you watch full screen. It’s that lovely.

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Did you watch the Mars landing yesterday? It was must see TV. And no finally we might get some answers to the question posed in this 1930 issue of popular science.