Florida mammals

Muskrat in Florida

Ondatra zibethicus

Native to Florida

Not listed as nonindigenous in Florida by USGS NAS; treated as native to its mapped Florida range.

IUCN Red List status

  1. LC
  2. NT
  3. VU
  4. EN
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX

LC – Least Concern

Widespread and abundant; not at risk.

Muskrats resting on a floating log in open waterMuskrat swimming head-on through calm waterLive muskrat sitting on a grassy bank at the water edgeTwo muskrats at a grassy water edgeMuskrat swimming with a long narrow tail trailing behind
Photo: Ken Clark · CC-BYMuskrats resting on a floating log in open waterPhoto: Svetlana Tsarakhova · CC0Muskrat swimming head-on through calm waterPhoto: Robert McLeod · CC0Live muskrat sitting on a grassy bank at the water edgePhoto: Dan Vickers · CC-BYTwo muskrats at a grassy water edgePhoto: Lukas Zangl · CC-BYMuskrat swimming with a long narrow tail trailing behind

Muskrat in Florida, by the numbers

Rare in Florida 92nd most recorded of 116 mammals logged in Florida

1 occurrence records

Records from 2000–2026.

When to look for the Muskrat in Florida

Most sightings fall in March.

1 Florida occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence. Based on a small number of dated records; the seasonal pattern may not be representative.

Monthly Florida records (table)
MonthRecords
January0
February0
March1
April0
May0
June0
July0
August0
September0
October0
November0
December0

Monthly muskrat occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Florida, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Sparse observation record in Florida; presence confirmed but timing of activity not well documented.

Occurrence map

Where Muskrat has been recorded in Florida

1 record mapped · zoom and drag to explore

1 Florida record mapped

Where it's recorded in Florida

CountyRecords
Lake County 1

The complete county distribution, spread across 1 Florida counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Florida sits at the southern edge of the muskrat’s mapped range, and the state’s records reflect that: a single GBIF entry from Lake County since 2000, and none from iNaturalist’s community-verified sightings. One unconfirmed database record is a single data point, not a trail of recent activity.

That lone record falls in March, too little to show any seasonal pattern. A record this thin fits a species near the southern limit of where it lives, not one thriving statewide.

Muskrat in other states

Muskrat range map (all states)

Muskrats resting on a floating log in open water
Full species profile Muskrat Ondatra zibethicus Size 25–36 cm9.8–14.2 in Weight 0.6–2 kg1.3–4.4 lb Lifespan 3 yr View the full profile

More mammals in Florida in the atlas

Data & sources

The data and visualizations on this page draw on these open sources:

  • GBIFCC-BY 4.0occurrence records behind the range map, elevation, and record counts
  • iNaturalistCC0 / CC-BY / CC-BY-SAobservations, photos, and audio recordings
  • IUCN Red Listattributed factthe global conservation status
  • USGS NASpublic domainnative / introduced status
  • Natural Earthpublic domainthe relief basemap