Muskrats??

[pressfit]

Just got back from the Tn Fur Harversters annual fall convention.. in talking with other trappers we are all noticing that the number of muskrats in Tn are dropping... just wondering if twra has noticed this and if its a concern or something they would look into? personally I used to trap them back in the eighties and early nineties.. now if I had to I dont think I could catch one anywhere in Giles county.. they have just vanished.. ponds lakes and creeks that used to be full of rat dens are now "rat free"..

 

[Timber Ghost]

Just got back from the Tn Fur Harversters annual fall convention.. in talking with other trappers we are all noticing that the number of muskrats in Tn are dropping... just wondering if twra has noticed this and if its a concern or something they would look into? personally I used to trap them back in the eighties and early nineties.. now if I had to I dont think I could catch one anywhere in Giles county.. they have just vanished.. ponds lakes and creeks that used to be full of rat dens are now "rat free"..

Coyotes may be contributing to the decline.

 

[CATCHDAWG]

I trapped them in the same time frame and they were plenty. Coyotes showed up about the same time and numbers continued to decline, just like the groundhogs. I do believe the yotes are the reason.

 

[pressfit]

One of my buds said that he used to occasionally find them dead on sandbars.. I found one dead about 15 years ago. No damage anywhere on him that I could see.

 

[walker]

i am seeing more otters and less rats around the rivers up here! don't know if they compete for food or teritory or not

 

[scn]

I'm not aware of any TWRA surveys on the issue.