542 Life-histories of Northern Animals 



to each other the discovery of danger by the loud alarm splash, 

 that the uninitiated think could be made by nothing less than 

 a Moose jumping into the water. I have several times heard 

 of Muskrats uniting also to fight some common enemy, but 

 never saw one of these affairs. 



COM- Besides the danger splash already noted, this animal can 



TioN use its voice. A low squeaking, made by suckling the back of 

 one's hand, gives a passable imitation of the Muskrat's friendly 

 call to its mate, and is sometimes used by the Indians to decoy 

 the swimmer within shot. They also squeal very loudly and 

 snarl among themselves. But the anal glands that secrete the 

 well-known musky smell of the animal also serve as a means 

 of communication, for it is left with the dung at the various 

 landing places, and I doubt not serves the animals as a sort of 

 crude news office, as described in the Gray-wolf chapter, 

 for each Rat on arriving can tell by the smell whether or not 

 any of his acquaintances have called there recently. 



MATING The mating season is said to be mid-April. Desperate 



fights now take place among the males, if their loud snarling, 

 splashing, and squealing at night are evidence. In these 

 battles the combatants tails are often mangled, or, according to 

 some trappers, even cut off. 



Apparently the species pairs. I find many naturalists 

 who believe it to be monogamous. The general rule is that 

 the males of polygamous animals do not concern themselves 

 with the young, whereas among monogamous animals the male 

 divides all labour with the female, including the building and 

 keeping up of the home, and this the male Muskrat certainly 

 does. I have again and again seen two adult Muskrats swim- 

 ming and working together in spring and early summer. In 

 fact, it is the rule for a pair to be seen continually about each 

 home den. 



The following observation made at my home by Mrs. 

 Mary Vanderburgh gives a glimpse of the family life that is 

 scarcely compatible with polygamy: 



