One late October evening, I sat at the edge of Kootenay River, observing geese and ducks preening their feathers for the last time of that day. One of the geese, I noticed, was badly limping.
"A coyote got you," I though, "luckily not quite... better be more careful next time!" With that I said good night and went home.
A couple days later I returned, hoping that this time I might get a glimpse of the coyote as well. But then I got distracted by something else. Next to the river's edge is a small pond. It is quite shallow, a swampy body of water, overgrown by aquatic plants and reeds. And in that pond (or swamp) lives a small and fearless creature who taught me a neat lesson that I will attempt to convey:
The master and a hero of the swampy pond is a furry muscrat (Ondatra zibethicus).
The name is hardly suitable for a brave creature like him.
(I have no idea if it is he or she so I will say "him").
For he is not a rat! He is a ....well ... a rodent, related to mice but he is not as insignificantly tiny as a mouse or even a rat! He can weigh a kilo and a half!
AND, he is amphibious, OK? So give him a break with that "rat" thing!
The "musk" in the muskrat is justified though. He produces this amazingly wonderful perfume to let his female friends know that he is ready for a date AND to let his male competitors know that this is HIS territory.
They might not like his advertising and show up anyway - to pick up a vicious fight to see if they can drive him away.
Not so easy!
But the ladies like him and produce their own musky perfume to let him know that. So at the end all his patrolling and fighting might prove to be worth the while.
If all works well, the muskrat builds a lodge, a castle for the family! It piles reeds in the shallow water and then, diving underneath it gnaws and scratches away the debris and mud until there is a nice and safe underwater entry-way leading into a beautifully dry living room that is located just above the water level. And all that is safely covered by the reeds and mud.
A lot of hard, hard work!
There, in safety and the warmth, the young muskrats are born.
Thinking of all that work and worry, it is no wonder that the muskrat patrols its territory with an utmost care.Dare to come closer to see for yourself!
That smudge of a creature swimming by the feeding platform is our brave muskrat and as you can see he is on a mission!
A small group of Canada geese just decided to explore his pond.
The muskrat wastes no time in taking off!
He must show them whose swamp that is! He is fast and furious and the geese seem to understand that. They all swim for the safety of the shore. But swimming is not fast enough; they must take to wing. That's how fast he can swim, his long flat tail serving as a propeller and a rudder at the same time.
The have reached the shore in time. Almost all of them, except for one.
He furiously snaps at the bird's leg, just as the goose is lifting off, missing by only millimeters, his furry body half way out of the water as he is trying to snap madly at the unwelcome guest.
A limping goose!
And a coyote?
Not so.
By the time I am able to process my thoughts, the geese are flying away and the muskrat, all adrenaline, is celebrating in the middle of the pond.
He just sits there, tail up in victory, watching, listening, smelling ..... looking at ME.
And I am just happy to watch him from the safety of a high, sturdy bank.
