Nebraska mammals

Bushy-tailed Woodrat in Nebraska

Neotoma cinerea

Native to Nebraska S3 Vulnerable in Nebraska

Not listed as nonindigenous in Nebraska by USGS NAS; native to its Nebraska 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 Nebraska, by the numbers

Occasional in Nebraska 46th most recorded of 95 mammals logged in Nebraska

46 occurrence records
31 with iNaturalist photos
Jun 4, 2026 Last seen in Nebraska

Records from 2000–2026.

When to look for the Bushy-tailed Woodrat in Nebraska

Most sightings fall in July.

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

Monthly Nebraska records (table)
MonthRecords
January0
February0
March2
April6
May5
June6
July12
August2
September5
October2
November1
December5

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

Seasonality

Year-round in Nebraska, with recorded sightings peaking in July.

Occurrence map

Where Bushy-tailed Woodrat has been recorded in Nebraska

46 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

46 Nebraska records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Soldier Creek Wilderness 2

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 Nebraska

CountyRecords
Scotts Bluff County 19
Banner County 14
Sioux County 5
Dawes County 4
Morrill County 3
Holt County 1

The complete county distribution, spread across 6 Nebraska counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Bushy-tailed woodrats carry a NatureServe S3 vulnerable rank in Nebraska, confined to the rocky buttes and canyon walls of the state’s western badlands where this cliff-dwelling rodent needs crevices for denning. The record leans slightly toward GBIF (45) over iNaturalist (31), suggesting both survey work and casual sightings near Scotts Bluff and Chimney Rock’s exposed rock formations document the species.

Records peak in July (12 of the year’s monthly-tallied sightings, more than a quarter of the total), tracking peak summer activity, with a smaller December bump (5) that stands apart from the surrounding fall and winter lull.

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 Nebraska 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"