Hispid cotton rats are one of Florida’s most heavily documented small mammals, with 2,591 records anchored by Ordway-Swisher Biological Station and Paynes Prairie in north-central Florida, both places with the dense grassy cover this rodent needs to build its runway system through thick vegetation. Everglades National Park extends the pattern south, and St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge carries it into the Panhandle.
iNaturalist supplies 1,433 of the 2,591 records and GBIF 2,076, with plenty of overlap between them, a sign that trapping studies and casual photographs both document this small, secretive rodent. Records climb through spring to an April peak and hold near that level through June, with a smaller rise in October, likely tracking both breeding activity and when field surveys most often run, since this species breeds prolifically enough to be a major prey base for hawks, owls, and snakes across its Florida range. NatureServe rates it secure (S5) statewide.
Full species profile
