Close encounters with a muskrat

Shelter Island Animal Control Officer Jenny Zahler’s days and nights are never dull. At any hour, she’s always ready to interact with animals (including the human variety) who call Shelter Island home. Now and then, Officer Zahler comes across something a little out of the ordinary.

“I was so excited,” she told the Reporter about encountering her first ever muskrat. 

A call came in came in around 8:15 p.m. Saturday reporting an animal in the road near the entrance to Mashomack. When Officer Zahler arrived she thought at first it might be a woodchuck or river otter, but had suspicions it might be a muskrat, which was confirmed later after she had done some research.

The critter was in distress, the ACO said: “It couldn’t walk and was really lethargic.” Another clue that it was not in good shape was, she said, “a muskrat shouldn’t be that easy to pick up.” Which she did. 

There was no real answer why the animal was in poor shape, but Officer Zahler speculated that it might have been “tapped by a car.”

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, muskrats (Ondatra zibethicus) are a “common, semi-aquatic rodent native to the United States.” They spend most of their lives in waters and wetlands and “are well adapted for swimming.” They rarely attack people “unless captured” and the U.S.D.A. said they will bite and scratch with their clawed feet.

Officer Zahler took every precaution and brought the muskrat home with her to see how it would progress overnight. Her experience with other animals who have been stunned but not killed by an encounter with a vehicle is that they show improvement by being in a safe, quiet place for awhile. 

But the muskrat was no better in the morning, and Officer Zahler took it to the Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center in Hampton Bays on Sunday for observation and care. She said the staff there were as pleased and excited as she was by being up close and personal with the rarely seen creature.