Kamloops woman spots muskrat hanging out in her driveway

A Kamloops woman found a fat, fuzzy freeloader parked where her car should be.

Ashley O'Reilly‎ spotted the creature in her driveway and took to a local Kamloops neighbourhood Facebook group yesterday, Jan. 7, to ask for opinions on what it was.

Over 120 people commented about the creature and the guesses ranged from a massive packrat, muskrat or a flying beaver.

"I would never have the heart to kill it, but I would very much like it to go away," said O'Reilly in the comments.

According to Sierra Club B.C., muskrats have scaly, thin tails and measure in at about 50 centimetres from head to tail.

Some commentators on the post noted it is larger than the ones they’ve spotted in the area, which live by the river bank.

Sierra Club B.C. notes that muskrats often live near bodies of water, and use vegetation to create their habitat, where they spend the winter hiding from predators and the cold conditions.

Muskrats are aquatic rodents found in North America, Europe and Asia, according to Nature.ca, and notes muskrats can be quite vicious and have been known to attack humans without apparent provocation.


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Jenna Wheeler

Jenna Wheeler

Jenna Wheeler is a writer at heart. She has always been naturally curious about what matters to the people in her community. That’s why it was an obvious decision to study journalism at Durham College, where she enjoyed being an editor for the student newspaper, The Chronicle. She has since travelled across Canada, living in small towns in the Rockies, the Coast Mountains, and tried out the big city experience. She is passionate about sustainability, mental health, and the arts. When she’s not reporting, she’s likely holed up with a good book and her cat Ace.