Mexican woodrat records in Utah cluster in the southern forested plateaus, the Dixie and Fishlake national forests along with the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache range further north. This woodrat dens in rock cracks and shelters rather than the stick nests typical of its relatives, tucking into crevices near pinyon, juniper, and oak stands that supply its food.
Utah’s 198 recorded sightings run almost entirely May through July, peaking at 53 in July, with barely a trace outside that window. Only one of those records came from iNaturalist; the rest trace back to GBIF, suggesting the count reflects targeted small-mammal trapping rather than casual sightings of a nocturnal, rock-dwelling rodent.
NatureServe ranks the Mexican woodrat S2, Imperiled, in Utah, a considerably more precarious status than its Least Concern global listing would suggest, worth noting given how thin the state’s own record is.
Full species profile
