Hispid cotton rats are one of Florida’s most heavily documented small mammals, with over 9,000 records anchored by St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge’s 67 named sightings in the Panhandle and Paynes Prairie’s 32 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.
Only 1,381 of the 9,084 records come from iNaturalist, with the rest from GBIF, a lopsided split that fits a small, secretive rodent far more likely to turn up in a trapping study than a casual photograph. Records rise through winter into a March peak, 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.
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