Quick ID on swimming Muskrat or Beaver

Any sure fire way to to tell if it is a rat swimming or a beaver. some times it is very clear other times not (for me that is ).

Very easy.Rats will make ripples from the tail.The rat uses its tail like a scull.
Also a rat will look like it is swimming faster(it kicks a lot faster than a beaver).

To me the ears are more pronounced on a beaver

Reminds me of an event in Yellowstone National Park years ago. We were rolling down the highway inside the park, alongside a lake and one of its bays, when we came upon 20-30 vehicles pulled off the side of the road and everyone out on the lake side of the road pointing and looking at "something." So, yea, we were tourists, we pulled over, walked on over to the group, and I asked what we were all looking at. Someone said there's a buffalo swimming towards us. So I looked out there, and sure enough, there was certainly something swimming towards us.

I went back to the truck and got my binoculars, took a peek, handed 'em to Susan, said looky there, there's a buffalo swimming towards us. Meanwhile, the crowd now determined the critter was not a buffalo, but a beaver swimming towards the shoreline. Susan looks at me and says it's a muskrat, not a buffalo, and not a beaver. So I said to a couple of 'em standing there it's a muskrat, not a beaver.

One lady asked what a muskrat was. I said it's a baby buffalo. And we walked back to the truck.

Boco hit it on the head with the ripple marks from the tail.

Yep, because of the way they use their tails for propulsion, a swimming rat will be making ripples like it’s got a small outboard attached to its rear end.

Can't even tell you how any times clients will say, "I saw a beaver in the creek we need you out here!" Or "You need to come back out as we saw a beaver swimming."
Muskrat mis-identification can be troubling....lol

When looking from an elevated vantage point the TAIL on the 'rat is making the S SHAPE when swimming (as stated for propulsion). So if you ever see a beaver doing that with their flat, muscular, scaly tail,,,, I would switch medications!

The Tail Slap is a dead giveaway! lol

these are two quick ones.... Muskrat tail wiggle is a good thing to look for as mentioned above...











,.,.

Thank you all that helped set me strait .

The 17 can usually tell for sure.
+ on the nose.

We are not allowed to do that in Wisconsin.
In these warmer climes the blood draws in the sharks.

Zim