Muskrats are active mid-afternoon into the night, and they spend much of their time in the water where they look for green vegetation to eat. In the summer, they will dive to eat the roots of aquatic plants — they’re able to stay underwater for up to 15 minutes — and in the winter, they will swim under ice to look for vegetation. Muskrats can swim in frigid water due to something called regional heterothermia, which regulates blood flow to their non-furry feet and tails, allowing these body parts to be cooler than the main part of the body, so their main body stays nice and warm in cold water.

muskrat in the water

The water is a safe space for muskrats, because they can escape predators such as raccoons, coyotes and owls by diving deep or by swimming into their burrows and nests. They paddle with their large, webbed back feet and use their flat tail to help them change direction. They can even swim backward.