What eats freshwater mussels?
Freshwater mussels are eaten by otters, raccoons and other small mammals, such as muskrats. Large mammals including humans, bears and seals also consume mussels on occasion. Turtles and water birds, such as ducks and herons, sometimes eat mussels. Bottom-feeding fish, such as carp or catfish, will eat the younger mussels with weaker shells.Source:U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service: America’s Mussels: Silent SentinelsSouthern Division of the American Fisheries Society: Freshwater Mussell Lesson PlanU.S.
