JUMPING MOUSE
Zapus hudsonius
As a rule, muskrats keep near their homes in winter, making excursions here and there beneath the ice. Sometimes the water rises and forces them out and they wander widely in search of new locations. When encountered at such times they show extraordinary courage and fiercely attack man or beast. The first muskrat I ever saw was one which a farmer met in midwinter in a snowy road in northern New York. As soon as the man drew near, the animal rushed at him with bared teeth and fought savagely until killed.
SILKY POCKET MOUSE
Perognathus flavus SPINY POCKET MOUSE
Perognathus hispidus
POCKET GOPHER
Geomys bursarius
Muskrats are usually harmless animals and their presence in marshes and along watercourses lends a pleasant touch of primitive wildness to the most commonplace situations. They appear to have so adapted their habits to the presence of men that they go on with their affairs with curious indifference to their human neighbors. In irrigated country or elsewhere where banked ditches are built their habits render them serious pests, as their burrows and tunnels drain ponds or cause destructive washouts.