Late Update: Mother duck seen with 8 babies, only one blonde, and without helpful male in attendance. (sigh)
Beaver or muskrat? Here’s how to tell
“It’s a beaver!” “No, it’s a muskrat!”
Such exclamations are often heard at Huntley Meadows Park in Alexandria, where both of these semi-aquatic rodents live. Even adults confuse the two, because beavers and muskrats are easiest to identify by their tails, but those aren’t always visible when these cute brown furry cousins are swimming. 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. With beavers, you often see only their large wedge-shaped heads.
Finally something I want to read in the Washington Post! Ann Siegal’s lovely article about how to tell the difference between beavers and muskrat! It teaches all the tools you’d expect, while encouraging children to be outdoors, use critical thinking, and pay attention to the natural world. Ann is obviously a friend in spirit! So of course I wrote her last night and sent her the film we use to teach the difference!
Ann wrote back that she’s a huge fan of beavers and in fact missed an anniversary dinner reservation with her husband because they stopped to watch them. (Of course, since beavers mate for life, I can’t imagine anything better to do to celebrate an anniversary!) She said that she’d found the video online and wondered where it was filmed and also said she wished that she was close enough to come to the beaver festival!
Well, since there’s a festival in Colorado and Utah this year and we recently heard a plan to start one from a beaver friend in Maine maybe if you can’t come to a beaver festival Ann, one can come to you! Ann has clearly thought about this issue a lot. She sent me beautiful beaver photos this morning that I had to ask permission to share. While I’m waiting for an answer go read the whole article, its delightful.
Ahhh, but now it gets confusing. You spot a cute furry brown critter coming out of a definite beaver lodge. It must be a beaver, right? Not necessarily. Muskrats often move into beaver lodges, even while the beavers are there. Kevin Munroe, park manager at Huntley Meadows, said, “Muskrats may provide another set of eyes looking out for predators.” (Locally, minks, otters, foxes or hawks pose danger to muskrats and baby beavers. Adult beavers here don’t have to deal with their usual predators — bears or wolves.)
Oh and guess what her last email said about lovely inexpensive beaver earrings made in California by ‘a company called WildBryde“. I told her that we were good friends with Mike Warner, and that he made our beaver charms for the past two years! Smallllllllllll world.
Tell Mike I’ve been a HUGE Wild Bryde fan and customer for years…have at least a dozen pair of earrings here now, but the beavers are my favorite. Wore them while doing the story and got LOTS of compliments.
Here is a Beaver Photo Feast by Ann Siegal of the Washington Post. (All images copyright to Ann) Enjoy!
