Muskrats are very alert to the slightess movement or the faintest sound. If I so much as move an arm too quick it can set the muskrat scurrying away. The soft snap of a branch can have the same effect. Yet I have stood only 2 feet away from one as it fed oblivious to my presence. There are 8 muskrats in this one area that I visit. I saw a few baby muskrats over the summer months. Baby muskrats look like small furry rodents and are dwarfed in size next to an adult.