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 149th most recorded of 233 mammals logged in California

49 occurrence records
4 with iNaturalist photos

Records from 2000–2026.

49 total records count every California occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 48; the monthly chart covers the 48 records with a full observation date.

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

Most sightings fall in August.

48 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
January0
February1
March1
April1
May12
June14
July1
August15
September3
October0
November0
December0

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

Seasonality

Year-round in California, with recorded sightings peaking in August, with a smaller rise in May–June.

Occurrence map

Where Ord's Kangaroo Rat has been recorded in California

48 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

48 California records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Doyle Wildlife Area 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 15
Plumas County 14
Mono County 12
San Luis Obispo County 6
Los Angeles County 1
Other localities 1

The complete county distribution, spread across 5 California counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

California has 49 Ord’s kangaroo rat records since 2000, nearly all of them in GBIF (47) and just 4 from iNaturalist. By record count it sits 149th of 233 California mammals, in the middle third, a ranking of documentation rather than of animals.

Records run from February through September, with most in May, June and August; August is the busiest month, with 15. Nothing is recorded from October through January, which likely says more about when field crews were working than about the rats.

Ord’s kangaroo rat ranges widely across the Great Basin and Great Plains, with Utah holding the most US records, and California’s share is a sliver at the western fringe. Most of the state’s records come from Lassen, Plumas and Mono counties on the Great Basin side of the Sierra.

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"