Muskrat Love..Whirling and Twirling...

ApS · 05-01-2009, 08:19 AM

I'd always suspected muskrats were around Lake Winnipesaukee, but I didn't expect to hear them, much less have them swimming around my dock while I was attending to my boats!

The two swam around me for about an hour—nose-to-tail in 10-foot circles: One was persistently "mewing" to the other. Sometimes the muskrat in front would turn around and snap at the muskrat following. (And sometimes, er...ah...er...ahem...she wouldn't).

It was very still, warm, sunny and quiet out yesterday, so the mewing could be heard for 100 yards or so—even heard a ruffed grouse at a ¾-mile distance for the first time in many years!

They "hauled out" on a log briefly, but I noticed that they can swim underwater at a depth of about three feet—and very quickly.

While they could be mistaken for beaver pups, this file photo is exactly what I saw from only a few feet away: Note the round tail.

Yes, I can now see where the lyrics come from..."And they whirled and they twirled and they tangoed..."Singin and jingin the jango..."

05-01-2009, 08:19 AM	#1
ApS Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Florida (Sebring & Keys), Wolfeboro Posts: 5,918 Thanks: 2,185 Thanked 775 Times in 553 Posts	Muskrat Love..Whirling and Twirling... I'd always suspected muskrats were around Lake Winnipesaukee, but I didn't expect to hear them, much less have them swimming around my dock while I was attending to my boats! The two swam around me for about an hour—nose-to-tail in 10-foot circles: One was persistently "mewing" to the other. Sometimes the muskrat in front would turn around and snap at the muskrat following. (And sometimes, er...ah...er...ahem...she wouldn't). It was very still, warm, sunny and quiet out yesterday, so the mewing could be heard for 100 yards or so—even heard a ruffed grouse at a ¾-mile distance for the first time in many years! They "hauled out" on a log briefly, but I noticed that they can swim underwater at a depth of about three feet—and very quickly. While they could be mistaken for beaver pups, this file photo is exactly what I saw from only a few feet away: Note the round tail. Yes, I can now see where the lyrics come from..."And they whirled and they twirled and they tangoed..."Singin and jingin the jango..." __________________ Is it "Common Sense" isn't.