Since 1947 muskrat Ondatra zibethica macrodon harvests from Currituck Sound marshes have become progressively smaller. During this period, raccoons Procyon l. lotor multiplied in large numbers. Their diggings increased each year. Systematic study of houses during the spring and summer, 1951, disclosed widespread damage by ''coons. Houses with litters were opened and the young were missing. In the fall-winter non-breeding period most digging stopped. Along ditches where muskrats burrow into banks and on the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge where raccoons are absent, muskrats are plentiful. No evidence of disease has been discovered. Placental examination and the presence of litters preclude sterility.