Hispid cotton rat reports crowd Georgia’s grassy coastal margins. Cumberland and Sapelo islands and Savannah National Wildlife Refuge all pair dense low cover with marsh or impoundment edges. The rats cut narrow runways through grass and weeds, feeding under a screen that also hides them from hawks, owls, and snakes.
August stands far above every other month in the record series, with May and September forming smaller shoulders. Warm-season field surveys and easier access to managed grasslands can amplify that peak, so it isn’t a population count. The place pattern is more informative: clipped, flooded, or heavily grazed ground offers less cover, while rank grass beside Georgia’s marshes gives these rodents the sheltered travel lanes they depend on.
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