Texas kangaroo rats live in one of the tightest ranges of any mammal in the state, a pocket of clay-loam grasslands in north-central Texas and just across the Oklahoma line. The places tied to this overlay, Big Bend, Balcones Canyonlands, and Big Thicket, sit hundreds of miles away in west, central, and east Texas, so they’re best read as general reporting locations rather than places to actually find this species.
Only 66 records exist statewide since 2000, nearly all from GBIF rather than photographed sightings, and the most recent dates back to 2020. Reports cluster in October and March, though with a total this small any month-to-month pattern should be read cautiously.
NatureServe ranks the species Critically Imperiled (S1) in Texas and Imperiled (G2) globally, a real conservation concern distinct from its broader IUCN Vulnerable listing. Records this sparse, from a species this range-restricted, likely undercount a population that’s already small and shrinking.
