Bushy-tailed woodrats, also called packrats, are known for hoarding shiny objects, bones, and plant debris into a large stick nest wedged into a rock crevice or cave mouth, a habit that ties them to rocky breaks and canyon country in Montana places like Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park and the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness rather than open prairie itself.
Records climb sharply into a July peak of 39, against just 1 in March, tracking the height of summer field-survey season and the stretch when this nocturnal rodent’s activity is easiest to confirm through fresh nest material. NatureServe rates the species secure (S5) statewide, and an old, well-used nest often holds more evidence of a woodrat’s presence than the animal itself.
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