Hispid cotton rats live low in dense grasses, weedy fields, marsh borders, and other thick ground cover. South Carolina reports extend from Sumter National Forest to the coastal habitats at Huntington Beach, Cape Romain, and Hunting Island. They are seldom spotted casually; many records come from focused small-mammal work.
Records are present year-round and peak in April–May. The sample is modest and detection methods matter, so the spring concentration should be treated as an observation pattern rather than a precise population cycle.
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