Here’s a rarity: a bob-tailed muskrat. The sight provoked memories of ghastly stories about muskrats gnawing off their own legs or tails that have been caught in traps and tales of coyotes or bobcats catching muskrats by the tail, swinging them around, and ending up with just a wriggling appendage as prey.
The muskrat’s tail is part of the reason it has such a nasty name. It’s also an aid to its identification in the wild. It’s virtually hairless and proportionally very long like the tail of a brown (Norway) rat, which makes muskrats easy to differentiate from flat-tailed beavers. But it’s an important part of the muskrat’s life.
Normally, the muskrat’s tail is almost half the length of the rodent (e.g., about 9 inches on a 10- or 11-inch body). It’s “laterally flattened” (deeper than wider), which allows for its use as a combination sculling oar and rudder. The appendage often is swished back and forth when the muskrat is swimming to aid power, balance, and maneuverability.
The tail on this little fellow just bobbed in the air, back and forth stiffly, while it swam in a pollen-flecked pond checking out potential nest sites. (Image taken in Brooklin, Maine, on May 25, 2024.)