Anyone seen a Muskrat in the Suburbs?

[dopemop]

I'm located in NE Calgary and last year I had a Muskrat in my backyard. I have no waterbody's in a 2k radius. It was a first. I just let it be but It still boggles my mind how the thing made its way to my place. Anyone else in a city ever seen a rat that far away from water?

[flyguyd]

You bet
Probly a young male looking for a new pond to call his own

[propliner]

I chased one down a storm drain once.

[ccmckee]

My buddy has one living under his ice fishing shack, it walked out to them from the shore a good 500 m.

[Bushrat]

Guy I worked with said he found a big dead rat when he moved a garden shed.
He called gov't to report it. They came and looked, turns out it was a muskrat. The young ones will travel a long ways overland to find a new place to call home, keeps them from inbreeding.

[Sundancefisher]

We get a couple every year walking into Lake Sundance. They are not the best as they can burrow into the lake liner and the breach could affect water levels. Buying city water is expensive. They also can burrow into the foam under docks.

It is interesting watching them swimming and then diving to grab a trout. Trout are too big but they do try.

[covey ridge]

Because Alberta is supposed to be Rat Free, concerned citizens often mistakenly report them thinking they are Rat rats. Animal services or Calgary Police used to get numerous sighting and because they were no where near water it was assumed that they were not mrats.

[vital shok]

We had one at work last year right off 52nd and 61st behind Brewster’s he was chilling at the shop for a week and moved on.

[MyAlberta]

In the early fall, parents drive the young ones away from the home pond if resources are low. Very high mortality rate.

I have been watching how the city of Calgary has been trying to manage the beaver populations in North Glenmore park. I’m thinking that the animals being forced to migrate are going to suffer far more than from a bullet.

[philintheblank]

Found one in my office one morning when i was in the army at the base in Edmonton. Couldnt even hazard a guess how he got there. the only water nearby was a small rain ditch at the end of the driway by the maintenance gate.

[KBF]

Strangest experience I ever had was hunting in 212, just in the treeline on the edge of a wheat field. Several mule deer does and fawn out approx 150 yards, as I watched the deer I noticed they were very intently concerned with something coming towards them across the field. Due to the hill in front of me all I could see was deer necks, and the heads eventually turned toward and looked my direction. Then all of the sudden, there he appeared a pretty good sized rat, first one I had ever had come passed while bow hunting.
He looked up at me and waddled on down through the aspens.

[HVA7mm]

There's a catch basin in South Edmonton (Summerside), just off of Savaryn and 90th street that is right full of Muskrats. In the summer/fall evening, the water is churning with the little rats.