Muskrat - A Seldom-Seen Canadian Animal
October 21st 2008 03:44
The muskrat is a furry little water-loving animal, smaller than a beaver but also trapped for its pelt.
Unlike the beaver, who gets to be on our nickel (5 cent piece), has been on postage stamps in the past, and recently featured in some TV ads for telephones, the muskrat has never achieved iconic status.
I haven't seen very many, though people who spend a lot of time canoeing would laugh at my describing them as "seldom seen". They're around, but not obvious.
I'm thinking about muskrats today because I almost hit one as I was driving the main highway from Edmonton to Calgary, Alberta yesterday. Muskrats are supposed to keep to riverbanks and streams. This little guy was walking (slowly) across the busiest, fastest 4-lane divided highway we have.
Against all odds, he made it.
Thanks to Flickr.com member mandj98 for sharing this photo, entitled "Muskrat", under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License. This muskrat was photographed in Michigan, but who knows, he may have just been there on a visit. He looks Canadian.
Muskrat
Unlike the beaver, who gets to be on our nickel (5 cent piece), has been on postage stamps in the past, and recently featured in some TV ads for telephones, the muskrat has never achieved iconic status.
I haven't seen very many, though people who spend a lot of time canoeing would laugh at my describing them as "seldom seen". They're around, but not obvious.
I'm thinking about muskrats today because I almost hit one as I was driving the main highway from Edmonton to Calgary, Alberta yesterday. Muskrats are supposed to keep to riverbanks and streams. This little guy was walking (slowly) across the busiest, fastest 4-lane divided highway we have.
Against all odds, he made it.
Thanks to Flickr.com member mandj98 for sharing this photo, entitled "Muskrat", under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License. This muskrat was photographed in Michigan, but who knows, he may have just been there on a visit. He looks Canadian.
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