California mammals

Bushy-tailed Woodrat in California

Neotoma cinerea

Native to California SNR Unranked in California

Not listed as nonindigenous in California by USGS NAS; native to its California range.

IUCN Red List status

  1. LC
  2. NT
  3. VU
  4. EN
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX

LC – Least Concern

Widespread and abundant; not at risk.

Bushy-tailed woodrat peering from forest floor cover at Oregon CavesBushy-tailed woodrat looking out from a rocky crevice at nightBushy-tailed woodrat partly hidden in lichen-covered talus
Photo: Oregon Caves National Monument · CC BY 2.0Bushy-tailed woodrat peering from forest floor cover at Oregon CavesPhoto: Logan Stecker · CC0Bushy-tailed woodrat looking out from a rocky crevice at nightPhoto: ribes2018 · CC BY 4.0Bushy-tailed woodrat partly hidden in lichen-covered talus

Bushy-tailed Woodrat in California, by the numbers

Occasional in California 135th most recorded of 241 mammals logged in California

677 occurrence records
48 with iNaturalist photos

Records from 2000–2026.

677 total records count every California occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300; the monthly chart covers the 666 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Bushy-tailed Woodrat in California

Most sightings fall in July to August.

666 California occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence.

Monthly California records (table)
MonthRecords
January4
February5
March3
April6
May55
June79
July131
August169
September98
October104
November6
December6

Monthly bushy-tailed woodrat occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in California, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in California, with recorded sightings peaking in July–August, with a smaller rise in October.

Occurrence map

Where Bushy-tailed Woodrat has been recorded in California

300 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

300 California records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
John Muir Wilderness 40
Yosemite National Park 36
Lava Beds National Monument 20
Golden Trout Wilderness 18
Death Valley National Park 14
Kings Canyon National Park 13
Lassen Volcanic National Park 13
Tahoe National Forest 10

Protected places with the most bushy-tailed woodrat sightings, from the USGS Protected Areas Database plus named mountain ranges, good spots to look, not a full breakdown, so they don't sum to the total.

Where it's recorded in California

CountyRecords
Mono County 88
Inyo County 72
Nevada County 71
Siskiyou County 67
Modoc County 62
Lassen County 46
Tulare County 43
El Dorado County 38
Trinity County 27
Tuolumne County 25
Tehama County 18
Mariposa County 16
13 other counties 104

The complete county distribution, spread across 25 California counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Bushy-tailed Woodrat records in California fit cool conifer forest, rocky slopes, and mountain meadows.

Reports center on the Sierra Nevada high country, with records separated from California’s hot lowlands. They show where people have documented the species, and they don’t rank California’s best habitat.

Reports rise most clearly in Jul–Sep. That pattern can reflect animal movements, weather, and observer effort, so it isn’t a population count.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Bushy-tailed woodrat peering from forest floor cover at Oregon Caves
Full species profile Bushy-tailed Woodrat Neotoma cinerea Size 22.7 cm8.9 in Weight 286 g10.1 oz Lifespan Up to 5.8 yr View the full profile

More mammals in California in the atlas

Data & sources

The data and visualizations on this page draw on these open sources:

  • GBIFCC-BY 4.0occurrence records behind the range map, elevation, and record counts
  • iNaturalistCC0 / CC-BY / CC-BY-SAobservations, photos, and audio recordings
  • NatureServe ExplorerCC-BYthe state conservation rank
  • IUCN Red Listattributed factthe global conservation status
  • USGS NASpublic domainnative / introduced status
  • Natural Earthpublic domainthe relief basemap
  • USFSpublic domainnational-forest boundaries
  • USGS Protected Areas Databasepublic domainthe named parks, forests, and refuges behind "notable places to look"