Ord's Kangaroo Rat in Nebraska

Dipodomys ordii

Native to Nebraska S5 Secure in Nebraska

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

IUCN Red List status

LC – Least Concern

Widespread and abundant; not at risk.

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 Nebraska, by the numbers

Common in Nebraska 29th most recorded of 95 mammals logged in Nebraska

79 occurrence records

42 with iNaturalist photos

Jun 29, 2026 Last seen in Nebraska

Records from 2000–2026.

79 total records count every Nebraska occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 77; the monthly chart covers the 77 records with a full observation date.

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

Most sightings fall in June.

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

Monthly Nebraska records (table)

Month	Records
January	0
February	1
March	1
April	5
May	5
June	33
July	5
August	3
September	14
October	3
November	5
December	2

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

Seasonality

Year-round in Nebraska, with recorded sightings peaking in June.

Occurrence map

Where Ord's Kangaroo Rat has been recorded in Nebraska

77 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

77 Nebraska records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monument	iNaturalist records
Ballards Marsh Wildlife Management Area	6
Niobrara National Scenic River	1
Samuel R. Mckelvie National Forest	1
Agate Fossil Beds National Monument	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 Nebraska

County	Records
Cherry County	42
Sheridan County	8
Garden County	6
Scotts Bluff County	5
Keith County	3
Banner County	2
Kearney County	2
Sioux County	2
Brown County	1
Hayes County	1
Lincoln County	1
Perkins County	1
2 other counties	5

The complete county distribution, spread across 14 Nebraska counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Ord’s kangaroo rats have 79 records in Nebraska since 2000, 69 carried by GBIF and 42 by iNaturalist, and more than half come from Cherry County in the Sandhills. NatureServe rates the state population S5, secure, fitting a species tied to the sandy soils of the Nebraska Sandhills over the Ogallala Aquifer.

June alone accounts for 33 of the year’s monthly-tallied records, more than a third of the total, with a smaller September rise of 14, a pattern that likely reflects summer field effort more than the kangaroo rat’s own year-round nocturnal activity.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

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 Nebraska 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"