Muskrats are common semi-aquatic rodents found throughout wetlands across North America, and they have also been introduced to parts of Europe and Asia. These adaptable creatures inhabit marshes, ponds, lakes, and slow-moving streams, often becoming a familiar sight in these watery environments. Given their aquatic habitat, a common question arises regarding their diet: are muskrats herbivores?
Muskrats and the Herbivore Definition
Muskrats are primarily herbivores, meaning their diet consists overwhelmingly of plant matter. A herbivore obtains its energy and nutrients mainly from vegetation. Their digestive systems are specifically adapted for processing green vegetation, making plants the foundational component of their daily intake.
While muskrats are often noted to be omnivores, this classification primarily reflects opportunistic feeding rather than a balanced consumption of both plants and animals. Approximately 95% of a muskrat’s diet is composed of plant materials. Their anatomical features, such as sharp incisors, are well-suited for cutting and consuming various plant parts.
The Mainstay of Their Diet
The vast majority of a muskrat’s diet consists of aquatic vegetation readily available in their wetland habitats. Cattails are a particularly favored food source, with muskrats consuming their roots, stems, leaves, and even the core, which is easier to digest. They also frequently feed on bulrushes, water lilies, sedges, duckweed, rushes, pondweeds, arrowheads, and wild rice.
Muskrats are adept at foraging for these plants, utilizing their sharp incisors to cut vegetation both above and below the water’s surface. They consume various parts, including starchy roots, rhizomes, fibrous stems, leaves, and occasionally seeds or fruits. Muskrats frequently create “feeding platforms” or “push-ups” from mud and vegetation, where they safely consume harvested food, protected from predators. These platforms are often littered with plant debris, indicating a recent meal.
Beyond the Green: Occasional Foods
While muskrats are predominantly herbivorous, they occasionally supplement their plant-based diet with animal matter. This opportunistic feeding typically occurs when plant food sources become scarce, particularly during colder months or in less vegetated habitats.
Muskrats have been observed consuming small aquatic animals, including freshwater mussels, clams, and crayfish. They may also opportunistically eat insects, snails, frogs, small, slow-moving fish, or amphibians. In rare cases, they might scavenge on carrion, such as dead fish exposed during spring thaws. Despite these occasional animal protein sources, such items generally constitute a small portion of their overall diet, typically around 5%.