The Muskrat 85 
Two years later another burrow in the same vicinity 
yielded a like amount. 
When he can obtain it, the principal animal food 
of the muskrat is the fresh water mussel. I have 
found large heaps of these empty shells near the 
entrance of a muskrat home. The muskrat is also 
said to feed to some extent upon fish, especially upon 
those fish which half conceal themselves in the mud, 
as the carp, sucker, and catfish. It is also probable 
that during severe winters, when food is scarce, they 
devour one another. I am certain that if a muskrat 
is caught in a trap and remains there for some time, 
its companions will often turn upon it and devour it. 
This cannibalism is not peculiar to the muskrat family, 
for it exists among the wolves and other wild animals, 
and to some extent among the domesticated ones. 
In certain parts of the country large numbers of 
muskrats are destroyed annually, not for their fur 
alone; but to prevent their becoming so numerous 
as to cause damage by making holes in the mill- 
dams, embankments, or ditches that happen to be 
inhabited by them. 
The manner of hunting muskrats is about the same 
throughout their range. In the Northern States the 
trapping season begins about the middle of October, 
and the fur continues good until the following April. 
