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On 5/16/2014 6:06 PM, darrell@abolitphotos.ca wrote:
> A beaver is a herbivore. They might nibble on mussels for calcium.
* but there are situations where you see shells associated with intense
Beaver activity, and in areas where there aren't any or many Muskrats.
I've seen this especially in northern Ontario where trappers assure me
there are few or no Muskrats. In general, Rodents are herbivores only to
the extent that they can't catch up with animal prey - Muskrats, Red
Squirrels, and Deer Mice are all active predators on various animal
prey. A few years ago there was a discussion of Beaver predation on
mussels on the UNIO-L mussel e-mail list, and while a number of
observers supported my idea that they're predators on mussels, only one
person from Alabama (no winter ice!) had actually seen a Beaver eating a
mussel.
> Muskrats are what is eating the mussels, no doubt in my mind, as simple
> as it might be.Been trapping all my life off and on as my father. You
> always see mussels on the river bank and lake shores in what we call
> feed beds for muskrats. They do get washed into deeper water.
* certainly this is usually the case, especially in places where the
shells are up on shore in heaps.
> Racoons do swim as well, ask any coon hunter that uses dogs, they will actually
> drown a dog by getting on top of their heads. you have to be careful
> when hunting racoons around water with dogs. Sure they likely do not
> swim regularly but they do swim and very well.
* but to they dive for food? Has anyone on the list seen a mammal eating
a freshwater mussel?
fred.
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