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More on Muskrat Populations

Numerous articles are popping up about the drastic decline in muskrat populations.  I've noticed this but wasn't sure if it was just me or a real trend.  Looks like it's for real, but nobody seems to have any answers explaining why.  In a recent Tribune-Review article I found this statistic amazing:  In Pennsylvania the muskrat harvest went from 621,111 in 1984 to 74,059 in 2008.  A huge drop, and the article reports that the number of muskrat trappers has remained about the same throughout that time.  You can read the rest of the article here: Muskrat Population Suffers Drastic Decline.
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4 comments:

  1. Gorges SmytheSeptember 28, 2010 at 9:08 PM

    Muskrats are at the mercy of habitat change,disease, floods, droughts, trappers and predation from air, water and land. I doubt if any one cause is the answer.

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  2. CJWSeptember 28, 2010 at 9:44 PM

    True enough, but I wonder if a decline this drastic can be attributed to a normal fluctuation in population? Seems like something big is going on. Whatever it is, I sure hope things swing the other way. Many young trappers get their start on muskrats!

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  3. arcmanDecember 24, 2010 at 11:29 PM

    Muskrat numbers seem to be up this year here in western Iowa but, nothing compared to what they were in the 1970's and early 80's. Here is a link to a line graph that I drew up using Iowa DNR harvest numbers. There is definately something happening to muskrats.
    http://www.lizardlake.net/images/graph.jpg

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  4. CJWDecember 25, 2010 at 10:55 PM

    Thanks for the link arcman. Muskrat populations are definitely down in my neck of the woods. I really hope they bounce back...there's nothing more fun than muskrat trapping!

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