The number of muskrats trapped for their fur in Minnesota dropped last year to about 19,000, the lowest on record.

Biologists say a number of factors are at play in that drop, including fewer trappers. But it may also reflect the semiaquatic mammal's long-term decline in much of the country, including Minnesota, that experts say is tied to the loss and erosion of wetland habitats muskrats need to survive.

Full story here.