Ondatra zibethicus (+ Impatiens glandulifera) (4803' N 1634' E)

Description:

2011-10-14 Lower Austria, district Wien-Umgebung - Fischa river alluvial forest (160 msm Quadrant 7965/1).The red stems in the foreground belong to Impatiens glandulifera, which is very common (and invasive) in this habitat - over long stretches it is the dominant plant of Fischa alluvial forest undergrowth.Some remarks about the animal, the muskrat: it is native to Northern America and has been introduced around 1900 (1905 in Bohemia, says German Wikipedia) for its fur - it was hunted then, but isn't really anymore (its fur is in low demand).The muskrat now has occupied a huge area in Europe, and it is considered an invasive and problematic species; it is no less shy than its very distant cousins, our ordinary rats: it let me get close to around half a metre here and even waited for minutes then before finally - and very slowly! - it took flight.