Black rats are an introduced commensal species in Mississippi, and NatureServe’s SNA rank, not applicable, reflects that introduced species don’t receive a state conservation status. The record leans toward iNaturalist (26 of 30 records), and Gulf Islands National Seashore anchors the coastal habitat where this species, historically a ship-borne colonizer of port towns and barrier islands, still turns up most often.
Records climb through the fall, October through December account for 13 of the 30 sightings, more than 40 percent of the total, a pattern that may track increased indoor and structure-adjacent activity as temperatures cool rather than any real population surge, since black rats breed year-round.
Full species profile
