Just 111 of the California kangaroo rat’s 1,069 state records were logged through iNaturalist; agencies documented the remaining 1,018 through specimen and trapping surveys across the Coast Ranges and southern California chaparral, ground the species prefers for its loose, diggable soil.
Reports spike hard in June, jumping to 257 after a slow spring, more than double any other month. That shape lines up with when small-mammal trapping crews are typically in the field rather than any real summer population boom.
No NatureServe state rank has been assigned to this species in California, leaving its conservation status here undocumented rather than confirmed secure. With 1,069 total records it still sits in the lower-middle of the state’s mammal record comparison, since far more heavily documented species crowd the list above it.
Full species profile
