Muskrats are large furry rodents that live in and around water. They can be found near marshes, streams, ponds, rivers, or other bodies of water. They have a hefty, scaly tail and small eyes and ears.
Muskrats build lodges-much like beavers-out of aquatic plants, mainly cattails. These lodges can be up to five feet high and eight feet across. Muskrats also burrow holes in the water's bank, with at least one entrance above the water level. They also build feeding platforms, where they eat.
Muskrats eat a variety of vegetation (rushes, pondweeds, water lilies, acorns), as well as some animals (frogs, snails, fish) in the summer, but in the winter, when food is scarce, the muskrat will feed on the inner walls of it's lodge, which are built large and full for this purpose.
Breeding season for muskrats starts in late winter and ends in September. 10 babies are born in each litter, and a female can have up to five litters per season. Baby muskrats are born without fur, but they gain the covering when they reach two weeks. They also begin swimming at that time. Muskrats are active during the day, but they are even more active at night.
Some musk perfume is made by the secretion of muskrats, but they are not commercial sources for it. Most musk perfume is made from musk deer.
Regretfully, I do not have a picture of a muskrat, but you can view some here.
sources: http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/muskrat.htm
The Animal Kingdom Graystone Press, copyright 1954, NY
http://askanaturalist.com/are-muskrats-used-to-make-perfume/
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