Muskrat is a very clean animal. It eats grasses and is not a garbage eater. It is very tender and flavorful in stews.

Fact is that muskrats are also meat eaters. Those empty clam shells didn't get that way from coon. In fact, a hind leg off a rat at a muskrat set will catch you some rats.

As for eating grinners I saw where a dead and bloating cow was in a field. Guess what when I kicked that cow 5 grinners came running out. Same with a coyote I had caught and killed. It was badly rubbed so I tossed it. You know what I'm going to say yes, a grinner was living in that carcass.

I always figured those empty shells were from otter. I didn't know muskrats are clams/mussels too.

Actually, rats can be cannibalistic.
And you would be correct some of those empty clam shells could be from both coon and otter, but rats also feed on those clams.

They do. When I lived in IL, before we had any otter to speak of.... I trapped a farm pond that was full of rats. The banks of that pond were just littered with clam shells.

Interesting. I wonder how they get the shells open.

We had about a five page thread going years ago on coyote, eating everyone that ate it said they would never touch it again

Oddly enough, even though I didn't seek it out or anything , I've found myself in a lot of situations where equine was on the menu . From a volunteer fire department that was roasting a whole donkey for a fundraiser to horse sashimi in Japan, from horse cold cuts in Kyrgyzstan to a stew in Turkey. I love horse meat.

Here , during the rattlesnake festivals in the spring, there's always a tent frying up rattlesnake. If any of you are with me and mention getting some , I'd discourage it aside from the curiosity aspect . But we can wrap a handful of toothpicks with a piece of shaved chicken breast , batter and deep fry it at home. Same thing.