Muskrat Decline??

[foxfire]

http://triblive.com/sports/outdoors/11951364-74/muskrat-muskrats-pennsylvania

Not sure I agree with the articles premise that there is a decline in muskrats along our stream, lakes, and ponds. I seem to still see my share yearly. What I have noticed is the INCREASE in Mink, even along the "marginal" streams. I assume muskrat and mink compete for the same resources.

 

[DaveS]

Mink are predators as far as I am aware. Although not exclusively, muskrats are mostly eaters of plant matter.

Although I don't do it any more, I cut my teeth trapping muskrats back in first or second grade. Good times tagging along with my brother, in boots that were never quite high enough for the water.

 

[FarmerDave]

DaveS wrote:
Mink are predators as far as I am aware. Although not exclusively, muskrats are mostly eaters of plant matter.

Although I don't do it any more, I cut my teeth trapping muskrats back in first or second grade. Good times tagging along with my brother, in boots that were never quite high enough for the water.

Yep, mink are predators, and they do eat a lot muskrats. Maybe that is what OP was hinting about.

I'm definitely seeing more of those as well as more raccoons, fox, coyotes, and way more raptors. I even have a picture of an eagle eating a muskrat down at my pond.

I think muskrats are in decline and probably for various reasons, but in no way in danger. Probably more like, nature establishing a balance which of course will oscillate. Right now, and over abundance of predators.

 

[Dave_W]

Interesting topic.

I can't remember the last time we argued about muskrat prevalence in PA.

Anyway, I agree with FarmerD and Foxfire that mink seem to be somewhat more common than they used to be...based on my unscientific observations while fishing. (To add to the pack: beavers are FAR more common than they used to be, but this is a topic for a different thread).

I still see a lot of muskrats here in my neck of the woods in SCPA. I'm not sure there are fewer around here. If they were to decline, would this impact our streams, and if so, in what manner?

 

[RLeep2]

If it's so (and I have no idea one way or the other..), I wonder if a portion of the reason could be the explosion in Fishers since their re-introduction in PA. They're predatory machines and mushrats sometimes aren't all that quick on the uptake in terms of sensing danger...

 

[foxfire]

Actually I was referring to den sites, habitat, etc. and the ability or not to habitat same areas as buddies!!

 

[bigslackwater]

mushrats sometimes aren't all that quick on the uptake in terms of sensing danger...

I agree with that. I see plenty and they are typically at close range when we see each other. I usually see them swimming through pools when I'm scanning for fish. I often wonder if anyone has ever hooked one, (by accident of course!)

 

[dc410]

I still see a fair amount of muskrats while carp fishing along our smaller warmwater streams in SE PA during the summer season.

 

[Chaz]

I see more off both species than I've ever seen. I haven't seen a fisher yet.

 

[724flyfishing]

I had my best year trapping muskrats this year. I saw them in a couple creeks that haven't had sign of a rat for a long time. There are not nearly as many around as when I was kid tho. Just my opinion I think it's because there's a increase in predators, mainly birds of prey. You see a red tailed hawk on just about every field edge these days. You can also include mink too because they're worth a whopping $7 now and are hard to catch, so no one traps them anymore.

I think a more note worthy decline in furbearers would be the red fox. Their numbers are way down, almost to a point they should put a limit in certain WMU's.

 

[salmonoid]

bigslackwater wrote:

mushrats sometimes aren't all that quick on the uptake in terms of sensing danger...

I agree with that. I see plenty and they are typically at close range when we see each other. I usually see them swimming through pools when I'm scanning for fish. I often wonder if anyone has ever hooked one, (by accident of course!)

I was nightfishing Spring Creek one night and was standing in the middle of the stream, casting downstream. It's not uncommon to spook fish and some of the suckers (and fewer of the browns) are fairly large, and they'll sometime take off upstream when they spook. This night, something went straight upstream, between my legs. I'm not sure who was more spooked - me or the muskrat that I whipped around upstream and flipped my headlight on.

After that encounter, I came to the realization that some of the large splashes that I heard at night and that I attributed to trophy browns surfacing were actually muskrat activity. I definitely cast in the area of night risers, so I suppose there was an off chance of snagging a muskrat.

 

[FarmerDave]

RLeep2 wrote:
If it's so (and I have no idea one way or the other..), I wonder if a portion of the reason could be the explosion in Fishers since their re-introduction in PA. They're predatory machines and mushrats sometimes aren't all that quick on the uptake in terms of sensing danger...

I once had one swim to within arms length of my face.

On a hot summer day, I was lying on a lounge chair in a swimming hole, with only my head sticking out of the water. I saw it coming from a distance and wanted to see how close it would get so I stayed perfectly still.

As it approached, I realized my hair was about the same color as a muskrat at the time, so it probably wanted to do one of two things...

And when I shooed it off, I was sure glad it didn't dive straight down.

I have had mink walk right up to me was well.

Oh yea, and a fox.

But I'm just a little guy, so it is easy for me to blend in.;-) The fox was just a pup, and notice how I didn't put it on rocks to snap that photo.

 

[salmo]

I have no idea why the muskrat population would decline. From a very unscientific prospective and based on nothing but speculation (like most of the posters on this site), I like the idea of minks, raccoons and increased raptors (the kind in the Jurassic Park series) as the cause of the muskrat population decline. As to the reintroduction of the fisher, I doubt that it would have an impact state wide. The fisher was reintroduced to Pennsylvania in the mid 90's and might impact NCPA, but I doubt they would have an impact in other more developed areas of the state. http://www.endeavornews.com/news/2012-10-13/Outdoors/Twenty_years_later_fishers_doing_well_in_Pennsylva.html

But like I said, it's my opinion based on nothing but pure speculation, so don't jump on me for spreading BS on the pasture. :hammer: :hammer:

 

[pete41]

well they are great eating says an old timer from Delmarva but some seem bothered by the teeth when eating the head.Being a night fisherman it was skunks that bugged me.

 

[salmo]

My favorite cook book The Joy of Cooking 1974 edition had a recipe for cooking muskrat. I must confess I never had the courage to try it.

 

[Prospector]

Muskrats are in decline. The serious trappers I know confirm this. I enjoy trapping muskrats but I haven't pursued them for many years. I don't see much sign.

 

[troutbert]

When I was a kid there were loads of muskrats in the streams in farm country.

But much of what was farm country is no longer farm country. It's suburbia. And development changes the nature of the streams. I think that is the main reason for the decline.

 

[ryansheehan]

FarmerDave wrote:

RLeep2 wrote:
If it's so (and I have no idea one way or the other..), I wonder if a portion of the reason could be the explosion in Fishers since their re-introduction in PA. They're predatory machines and mushrats sometimes aren't all that quick on the uptake in terms of sensing danger...

I once had one swim to within arms length of my face.

On a hot summer day, I was lying on a lounge chair in a swimming hole, with only my head sticking out of the water. I saw it coming from a distance and wanted to see how close it would get so I stayed perfectly still.

As it approached, I realized my hair was about the same color as a muskrat at the time, so it probably wanted to do one of two things...

And when I shooed it off, I was sure glad it didn't dive straight down.

I have had mink walk right up to me was well.

Oh yea, and a fox.

But I'm just a little guy, so it is easy for me to blend in.;-) The fox was just a pup, and notice how I didn't put it on rocks to snap that photo.

:lol:

 

[SteveG]

I can't attest to a muskrat decline, but agreed on the mink and raptors. I probably see a kestrel or redtail hawk every day.

I remember reading that part of the fisher reintro was to control porcupine, and assumed that fishers had the same mountainous habitat preference. I was shocked when I had one cross in front of me just off Trindle Rd in Mechanicsburg. That was an impressive animal, capable of taking on a medium size dog.

 

[foxtrapper1972]

In my area the Muskrat decline coincided with the disappearance of Ringneck Pheasants and popularizing of no till farming. Agree with others Mink and raptors on rise but wonder if some type of agricultural pollution could be involved?

Flash floods are very hard on the baby Muskrats I do know.

I see most Muskrats these days on trout streams like Spring Creek or ones that have cress beds. I see few Muskrats in the old places I found them like meadow farm streams or swamps. The swamp rats often made the distinctive dome shaped houses of cattail reeds. In my youth every ditch with some water in it held Muskrats.
As a teenager I averaged between 50- 100 a season just running a small trapline on foot and by boat.
I remember one year getting close to $8.00 each for them.