Kansas mammals

Muskrat in Kansas

Ondatra zibethicus

Native to Kansas S5 Secure in Kansas

Not listed as nonindigenous in Kansas by USGS NAS; native to its Kansas 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 Kansas, by the numbers

Common in Kansas 28th most recorded of 93 mammals logged in Kansas

675 occurrence records
216 with iNaturalist photos
Jun 27, 2026 Last seen in Kansas

Records from 2000–2026.

675 total records count every Kansas occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300; the monthly chart covers the 586 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Muskrat in Kansas

Most sightings fall in December.

586 Kansas occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence.

Monthly Kansas records (table)
MonthRecords
January31
February21
March42
April47
May42
June28
July22
August32
September36
October32
November89
December164

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

Seasonality

Year-round in Kansas, with recorded sightings peaking in December.

Occurrence map

Where Muskrat has been recorded in Kansas

300 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

300 Kansas records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Slate Creek Wetlands 6
Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area 4
Tuttle Creek State Parks 2
Prairie Center 2
Washington State Fishing Lake And Wildlife Area 2
Scott State Park 1
Meade State Park 1
Cedar Bluff Wildlife Area 1

Protected places with the most muskrat sightings, from the USGS Protected Areas Database plus named mountain ranges, good spots to look, not a full breakdown, so they don't sum to the total.

Where it's recorded in Kansas

CountyRecords
Douglas County 229
Lyon County 75
Rice County 62
Sedgwick County 56
Johnson County 33
Montgomery County 27
Ellis County 14
Sumner County 14
Atchison County 13
Riley County 12
Meade County 12
Barton County 10
42 other counties 118

The complete county distribution, spread across 54 Kansas counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Muskrats inhabit marshes, ponds, slow streams, and vegetated reservoir margins across Kansas. Quivira National Wildlife Refuge is a natural place to scan open channels at dawn or dusk; feeding platforms, clipped vegetation, and bank burrows can reveal their presence first.

More than 200 iNaturalist records support the common classification, while wetland access and water levels shape where observers report them. Sightings occur year-round and are most frequent in April and May.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Muskrat in other 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 Kansas 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
  • NatureServe ExplorerCC-BYthe state conservation rank
  • IUCN Red Listattributed factthe global conservation status
  • USGS NASpublic domainnative / introduced status
  • Natural Earthpublic domainthe relief basemap
  • USFSpublic domainnational-forest boundaries
  • USGS Protected Areas Databasepublic domainthe named parks, forests, and refuges behind "notable places to look"