[Behavior and sociology of the muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus L.)].

Abstract

This description of the behaviour of the muskrat is the result of observations made in open-air pens and during the rearing of young animals in direct contact with man. The approximately 100 muskrats observed came from southern Lower Saxony (population immigrated down the river Elbe). As the same facilities of observation had been used to study brown rats, it was possible to compare the behaviour of both species which showed fundamental differences.