California mammals

Desert Kangaroo Rat in California

Dipodomys deserti

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.

Desert Kangaroo Rat in California, by the numbers

Occasional in California 92nd most recorded of 241 mammals logged in California

1,810 occurrence records
322 with iNaturalist photos

Records from 2000–2026.

1,810 total records count every California occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300; the monthly chart covers the 1,754 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Desert Kangaroo Rat in California

Most sightings fall in March to April.

1,754 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
January79
February82
March234
April387
May202
June174
July77
August49
September99
October161
November94
December116

Monthly desert kangaroo rat occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in California, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in California, with recorded sightings peaking in March–April.

Occurrence map

Where Desert Kangaroo Rat 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
Death Valley National Park 211
North Algodones Dunes Wilderness Area 64
Mojave National Preserve 49
Mesquite Wilderness Area 14
Mojave Trails National Monument 12
Piper Mountain Wilderness Area 8
Ocotillo Wells State Vehicular Recreation Area 4
Coso Range Wilderness Area 4

Protected places with the most desert kangaroo rat 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
Inyo County 551
San Diego County 342
San Bernardino County 336
Imperial County 286
Riverside County 173
Los Angeles County 59
Mono County 6
Kern County 6
Madera County 1
Lassen County 1
Santa Barbara County 1
Other localities 48

The complete county distribution, spread across 11 California counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Desert Kangaroo Rat records in California fit dry scrub, rocky canyons, and sandy or gravelly ground.

Reports center on the Mojave and Colorado deserts, including Death Valley and the Joshua Tree region. They show where people have documented the species, and they don’t rank California’s best habitat.

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

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

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"