Oklahoma mammals

Eastern Woodrat in Oklahoma

Neotoma floridana

Native to Oklahoma SNR Unranked in Oklahoma

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

IUCN Red List status

LC – Least Concern

Widespread and abundant; not at risk.

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

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 Oklahoma, by the numbers

Occasional in Oklahoma 50th most recorded of 120 mammals logged in Oklahoma

578 occurrence records

27 with iNaturalist photos

Jul 5, 2026 Last seen in Oklahoma

Records from 2000–2026.

578 total records count every Oklahoma occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300; the monthly chart covers the 576 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Eastern Woodrat in Oklahoma

Most sightings fall in October.

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

Monthly Oklahoma records (table)

Month	Records
January	11
February	11
March	45
April	33
May	44
June	98
July	65
August	59
September	45
October	104
November	34
December	27

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

Seasonality

Year-round in Oklahoma, with recorded sightings peaking in October, with a smaller rise in June–July.

Occurrence map

Where Eastern Woodrat has been recorded in Oklahoma

300 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

300 Oklahoma records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monument	iNaturalist records
Ouachita National Forest	14
CLO Lands	9
Fobb Bottom Wildlife Management Area	6
Lake Thunderbird State Park	3
Oliver's Woods	2
James Collins Wildlife Management Area	1
Canton Wildlife Management Area & Waterfowl Refuge Portion	1
Kaw Wildlife Management Area	1

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 Oklahoma

County	Records
Cleveland County	83
Marshall County	60
Osage County	52
Comanche County	50
Kay County	27
Le Flore County	27
Major County	23
McCurtain County	22
Payne County	21
Caddo County	18
Dewey County	17
Washita County	12
39 other counties	166

The complete county distribution, spread across 51 Oklahoma counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Eastern woodrats show a stark source imbalance in Oklahoma’s record: 562 GBIF records against just 27 from iNaturalist, meaning trapping surveys, not casual sightings, document nearly everything known about this stick-nest-building rodent here. No NatureServe rank appears on file, SNR unranked.

October alone accounts for 27 of the year’s monthly-tallied records, close to a quarter of the total, with a broader summer-into-fall pattern (June through October carrying the bulk of records) that likely tracks the timing of survey effort rather than any dramatic real seasonal shift in the woodrat’s own behavior, since this species doesn’t hibernate.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

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 Oklahoma 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"