California mammals

Ord's Kangaroo Rat in California

Dipodomys ordii

Native to California SNR Unranked in California

Not listed as nonindigenous in California by USGS NAS; native to its California range.

IUCN Red List status

  1. LC
  2. NT
  3. VU
  4. EN
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX

LC – Least Concern

Widespread and abundant; not at risk.

Ord's kangaroo rat standing in profile, showing its huge hind feet and long tufted tailOrd's kangaroo rat pausing alert at night, whiskers and dark eye lit by flashOrd's kangaroo rat sitting upright in sandy scrub habitatOrd's kangaroo rat among low shrubs on open sandOrd's kangaroo rat standing on gravel, showing its big ears and hind feet
Photo: ecovore · CC BY 4.0Ord's kangaroo rat standing in profile, showing its huge hind feet and long tufted tailPhoto: Juan Cruzado Cortés · CC BY 4.0Ord's kangaroo rat pausing alert at night, whiskers and dark eye lit by flashPhoto: Dominic Alianelli · CC0Ord's kangaroo rat sitting upright in sandy scrub habitatPhoto: Without Borders · CC0Ord's kangaroo rat among low shrubs on open sandPhoto: CK2AZ · CC BY 4.0Ord's kangaroo rat standing on gravel, showing its big ears and hind feet

Ord's Kangaroo Rat in California, by the numbers

Occasional in California 159th most recorded of 241 mammals logged in California

423 occurrence records
3 with iNaturalist photos

Records from 2000–2026.

423 total records count every California occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300; the monthly chart covers the 410 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Ord's Kangaroo Rat in California

Most sightings fall in June to October.

410 California occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence.

Monthly California records (table)
MonthRecords
January2
February3
March13
April13
May30
June67
July69
August66
September69
October75
November2
December1

Monthly ord's kangaroo rat occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in California, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in California, with recorded sightings peaking in June–October.

Occurrence map

Where Ord's Kangaroo Rat has been recorded in California

300 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

300 California records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Doyle Wildlife Area 1
Granite Mountain Wilderness Area 1
Hastings Natural History Reserve 1

Protected places with the most ord's kangaroo rat sightings, from the USGS Protected Areas Database plus named mountain ranges, good spots to look, not a full breakdown, so they don't sum to the total.

Where it's recorded in California

CountyRecords
Lassen County 166
Plumas County 88
Inyo County 82
Mono County 53
Modoc County 10
San Luis Obispo County 6
Monterey County 1
Orange County 1
Stanislaus County 1
Alpine County 1
San Bernardino County 1
Siskiyou County 1
Los Angeles County 1
Other localities 11

The complete county distribution, spread across 13 California counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

California’s combined state files contain 425 Ord’s Kangaroo Rat records: 3 from iNaturalist and 422 from GBIF. It ranks 161th among 243 mammals in this California record comparison, placing it in the middle third. That’s a ranking of submitted records, not a head count of animals.

The monthly series reaches its high point in June and August, with 14 records in the busiest months. Records appear in 7 of 12 months, so the pattern shows when sightings were documented, not when the species must be present or absent.

California accounts for about 1% of the mapped GBIF records summarized on the national Ord’s Kangaroo Rat page. That’s a small share of the known record footprint, though differences in survey effort can strongly shape the percentage.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Ord's kangaroo rat standing in profile, showing its huge hind feet and long tufted tail
Full species profile Ord's Kangaroo Rat Dipodomys ordii Size 21–36.5 cm8.3–14.4 in Weight 50 g1.8 oz Lifespan Up to 9.9 yr View the full profile

More mammals in California in the atlas

Data & sources

The data and visualizations on this page draw on these open sources:

  • GBIFCC-BY 4.0occurrence records behind the range map, elevation, and record counts
  • iNaturalistCC0 / CC-BY / CC-BY-SAobservations, photos, and audio recordings
  • NatureServe ExplorerCC-BYthe state conservation rank
  • IUCN Red Listattributed factthe global conservation status
  • USGS NASpublic domainnative / introduced status
  • Natural Earthpublic domainthe relief basemap
  • USFSpublic domainnational-forest boundaries
  • USGS Protected Areas Databasepublic domainthe named parks, forests, and refuges behind "notable places to look"