The animal I saw in Shoveler Pond was a muskrat, not a nutria. Paul
Talbert and I examined two of them in the pond last night. One was very
considerate and raised its tail out of the water, turning it slowly to show
off the side-to-side flattening- if only more birds would be so cooperative!
Thanks for the helpful tips on mammal identification. We'll keep watching
to see if they have a muskratry...


On Mon, 3 Jun 1996, Doug Dorer wrote:

> One evening last week, at dusk, I watched a mammal swimming and feeding
> for several minutes in the Shoveler Pond at Montlake. I believe it was a
> nutria (certainly not a beaver or otter!), though I don't have any
> experience distinguishing nutria and muskrats. This animal gave me the
> impression of being like an aquatic marmot.
>
> Doug Dorer
>
>