A dark head broke the surface of the water just after sunrise yesterday at Huntley Meadows Park and the animal slowly and silently swam by me. Was it a beaver or a muskrat? It looks like a Norther American Beaver (Castor canadensis) to me, but I never got a look at its tail—the tail would have provided definitive proof of the animal’s identity.
The many gnawed off tree stumps testify to the presence of beavers in several lodges in the park, but the beavers themselves have remained remarkably elusive. Muskrats are active in the same areas and many park visitors have spotted them in action during the daylight hours.
Beaver or muskrat? What do you think?
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
I’m going to go with- I have no clue but he’s cute and it’s a great photo !
Definitely a beaver here Mike given the larger size and more prominent ears.
Thanks, Rob. I was reasonably confident, but welcome your confirmation and explanation.
Beaver, the national symbol of Canada.
One thing’s for sure: it’s not a nutria, the usual swimmer around here. No matter whether it’s a muskrat or beaver, it’s much cuter than a nutria. I’ll vote muskrat, just so I can remind you that they have their own song. Remember “Muskrat Love”?
I grew up with that song, but it’s beginning to look like it was most likely a beaver. Why can’t they have their own song?
Beaver – muskrat swim with head, top part of body and usually one can see a vertical tail movement. Beaver leave little or no wake – rats leave a noticeable wake behind them.
Thanks, Tony. There seems to be a general agreement that this is a beaver. Thanks for the additional information. I’ve seen times when a muskrat was whipping its tail back and forth really vigorously, but in limited light, it was hard to see what was happening.
I think it’s a muskrat. The face doesn’t look right for a beaver.
Some folks have pointed to the ears as an identification feature, but your uncertainty is a reflection of the way that I was feeling. Identification is rarely easy for me.
I honestly have no clue, but would go with Beaver only because it looks sorta like a beaver, and I don’t know what a muskrat looks like. I might send this to my cousin now in Colorado, as he used to trap Muskrats in the Jersey meadowlands many, many years ago. But, I really never understood why? To sell to local restaurants??? For muskRAT fur coats??? M 🙂
I’ve seen them both swimming in the water and was reasonably sure it was a beaver, but I thought it would be useful to open it up for discussion–I definitely am not an expert.
I think it is a beaver. Muskrat ears are less visible when they swim (more covered in fur). The nose also looks more beaver-like than muskrat-like. Cute photo 🙂 .
Great, first thing I thought of was that stupid song by Captain and Teniel. 🙂
Great Shot. 🙂
p.s. I don’t know how to spell her name.
Well, you’re safe, Ed. In this case, it was not muskrat love. 🙂
O.K. how about from the “Naked Gun”.. Nice beaver…. 🙂
I’m going with Beaver! There are quite a few at Huntley. I think muskrats have pointier noses.
Thanks, Sally. The consensus is that my early morning swimmer was a beaver.
I love the way the eyes look soooooo 2016 with big exaggerated lashes!!!!!
Big lashes are in for 2016? Who knew?
How big was the head? Haha. I’d guess beaver from the way the ears stick out from the head. But good question!
A number of folks have weighed in and confirmed that it is a beaver. I have been wrong enough time in identifications that I don’t mind asking for help. Size is a critical factor, but relative size is tough to judge when the light is limited and you see only the head.
Mike: This is from my afore-mentioned cousin, to whom I inquired about the Bever/Muskrat controversy:
“You didn’t send me the picture but they look similar. A beaver has a wide flat tail. A muskrat has a tail that looks like a rat’s tail, it’s round not flat. Both have no hair on their tails. Beavers have buck teeth. Beaver’s grow a lot bigger than muskrats, 24-71 pounds, muskrat’s are less than 5 pounds.
Raoul and I trapped and also hunted ducks. We used a 2 person Folbot kayak to get around the marsh. We painted it camouflage and did such a good job that I tripped over it twice. We built duck blinds. My dog, Tippy, was a good retriever. He loved to hunt with us.
A lot of the kids in our class hunted and trapped. We walked a mile from our homes through town carrying shotguns. Can you imagine a couple of 14 year old boys doing that today? Nobody thought anything of it then.
We trapped muskrats to sell the pelts. We got 75 cents for each pelt from Sears Robuck. My mother had a full length muskrat coat and I bought one for my girlfriend, Amy. (to be fair we pooled all of our money so Amy and I both paid for the coat.) The hair is not as fine as mink and a muskrat coat costs about half as much. It’s still a very nice coat.
No restauraunts back then!
Dick
I love this so much!
I just started a site about insects and animals.
It would be great if you could check it out!