Ord’s kangaroo rats are small, nocturnal hoppers built for dry, sandy ground, and Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge’s prairie benches, the nearby wildlife management areas, and the sandy soils along the Missouri River corridor all offer that kind of terrain. Montana has logged just 9 records of the species, a thin count that fits an animal that only comes out after dark and rarely poses for a camera. Seven of them come from Carbon County on the Wyoming line, with single records from Custer and McCone counties.
The records all fall between May and August, with 5 in July, too few to read a real seasonal pattern into. NatureServe lists the species as S5, secure, in Montana, so the modest record count here reflects limited survey effort rather than scarcity.
Full species profile
