Missouri mammals

Eastern Woodrat in Missouri

Neotoma floridana

Native to Missouri S4 Apparently Secure in Missouri

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

Eastern woodrat climbing in a shrubEastern woodrat standing against tree barkKey Largo woodrat looking from a nest pipeEastern woodrat moving through straw and leaf litterEastern woodrat beside sticks and leaves
Photo: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Southeast Region · CC-BYEastern woodrat climbing in a shrubPhoto: Darren Oh · CC-BY-SAEastern woodrat standing against tree barkPhoto: iNaturalist contributor · CC0Key Largo woodrat looking from a nest pipePhoto: Ryan Donnelly · CC-BYEastern woodrat moving through straw and leaf litterPhoto: evangrimes · CC-BYEastern woodrat beside sticks and leaves

Eastern Woodrat in Missouri, by the numbers

Occasional in Missouri 50th most recorded of 82 mammals logged in Missouri

33 occurrence records
18 with iNaturalist photos

Records from 2000–2026.

33 total records count every Missouri occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 32; the monthly chart covers the 29 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Eastern Woodrat in Missouri

Most sightings fall in May to June.

29 Missouri occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence. Based on a small number of dated records; the seasonal pattern may not be representative.

Monthly Missouri records (table)
MonthRecords
January0
February3
March1
April2
May5
June4
July1
August3
September4
October1
November3
December2

Monthly eastern woodrat occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Missouri, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in Missouri, with recorded sightings peaking in May–June, with a smaller rise in August–September and November.

Occurrence map

Where Eastern Woodrat has been recorded in Missouri

32 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

32 Missouri records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Ozark National Scenic Riverways 2

Protected places with the most eastern 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 Missouri

CountyRecords
Greene County 4
Ozark County 4
Barton County 3
Shannon County 3
Phelps County 3
Jackson County 2
Wayne County 2
Crawford County 1
Jasper County 1
Iron County 1
Texas County 1
McDonald County 1
6 other counties 7

The complete county distribution, spread across 18 Missouri counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Eastern woodrats show up 33 times in Missouri’s records, split fairly evenly between iNaturalist and GBIF, a mix that fits an animal active enough at night to occasionally get photographed but still mostly documented through trapping surveys. Mingo National Wildlife Refuge, Big Oak Tree State Park, and Swan Lake National Wildlife Refuge offer the bottomland timber and brush piles this pack rat needs to build its stick nests and cache nuts, seeds, and fungi.

May brings the clearest bump in reports, with smaller rises in September and late fall, though with only 33 records total, those patterns could shift with a handful of new sightings either way. NatureServe rates the species S4, Apparently Secure, in Missouri, a comfortable status for a rodent that isn’t often seen.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Eastern woodrat climbing in a shrub
Full species profile Eastern Woodrat Neotoma floridana Size 21.4 cm8.4 in Weight 208 g7.3 oz Lifespan 3 yr View the full profile

More mammals in Missouri 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"