Habitat: Found usually in association with the pines of the Transition and Canadian Life Zones; crevices in cliffs and among rock slides are favorite nesting sites.
Description: This woodrat will be recognized at once by its bushy, squirrel-like tail. The several other species in the same range have the usual scanty growth on the tail, so thin as to be almost unnoticeable. This species is large for a woodrat; total length ranges from 12½ to 18 inches. Tail 5½ to 8 inches. The soft, thick fur shows wide variation in color, as might be expected from the great range occupied by this species with its many subspecies. In general it varies from ashy to cinnamon above, to pure white on the underparts. Although the head has the same general shape as that of other woodrats, its appearance is altered somewhat by long, silky whiskers up to 4 inches in length, and extremely large ears. The dark, beady eyes, however, are typical of the genus. The young, from two to six, are born in early summer. This average of four or possibly less, when the breeding habits of all the subspecies are taken into consideration, seems low when compared with other small rodents. The low death rate indicated probably is due not only to this species’ secretive habits but to a high order of native intelligence as well.
bushy-tailed woodrat
Many are the names applied to this interesting little animal. “Mountain rat,” “pack rat,” “trade rat,” and woodrat are some of the most common. Several stem from the supposition that when the animal takes an article that suits its fancy, it always replaces it with something which it supposes to be of equal value. Observation of the creature’s habits will indicate that these “trades” are entirely by chance. These animals are continually carrying small objects about and often drop one in favor of another more to their liking. The fact is that the most attractive items usually are carried to the vicinity of the nest, and so the scientific name of one of the subspecies is perhaps one of the most appropriate for this industrious collector. This subspecific title is orolestes, which translated from the Greek means oros, mountain, and lestes, robber.
The penchant for carrying away another’s property leads to many incidents both comic and tragic. The rats are not at all averse to sharing a prospector’s cabin, and during hours when the rightful owner is away at work raise havoc with his possessions. During long winter nights they are no less industrious, and the mysterious sounds of their activities will keep even a sound sleeper awake for hours. Eventually this becomes so exasperating that drastic action is called for. One old prospector told me of a woodrat that had been bothering him for a long time. Traps proved of no avail and finally one night he placed his forty-five on a box beside his bed, together with a candle and matches. During the night he was again awakened and quietly sat up and lighted the candle. There on one of his cupboard shelves was the dim form of the rat. Taking careful aim in the flickering candlelight, he pulled the trigger and hit the animal “dead center.” The heavy slug literally blew it apart. Unfortunately it happened to be sitting directly in front of a 5-pound can of coffee. One may assume that without either woodrat or coffee he slept soundly thereafter.
My own experiences with this species have been no less exasperating. When but a youth, my brother and I were quartered in an old bunkhouse one winter. We chose the smaller of the two rooms as being easier to keep warm, and after a thorough clean-up moved in. No rank novices, we wired our watches to a nail driven into the wall and hung our other valuables from a wire stretched across the room. In the morning our socks were missing! Thereafter matters were uneventful for a week. The woodrat would come up through a hole in the corner of the room as soon as the lights were out. All night long it would make trips through the connecting door into the adjoining room and carry away loads of cotton from an old mattress on the unused bed.
Came the week-end and the Saturday barn dance about 3 miles up the canyon. Fresh shirts and trousers donned, coats and vests were taken from the chair backs upon which they had been carefully hung. Behold! One vest front was completely chewed out and carried away, presumably for nesting material. This was the last straw; the creature must be done away with.
On the following night plans were laid with care. Two 5-gallon oil cans were placed in the doorway. This left a narrow passageway just wide enough to accommodate a small jump trap. A piece of newspaper was placed over the trap and the end of the chain wired to the head of the steel bedstead. A short time after the lights were put out, a scratching noise indicated that the animal had come in through the hole. All was quiet until its nose came into contact with one of the empty cans. Then snap! A series of squeaks and the rattle of the chain gave warning that the creature was climbing into bed. As it came in over the head, the wildly excited occupants left by the foot. When the light was struck the rat was sitting in the middle of the bed. A heavy boot soon dispatched it and a semblance of order again returned to the bunkhouse. Strange to say, no more woodrats came in for the remainder of the season.
Although such experiences are the rule when this rat has moved into a dwelling, it is a delightful creature in its native haunts. It is a rim rock dweller; that is, it likes best to build its nest far back in some deep crevice of a cliff. If such a location is not available it may find a protected site in a talus slope or even among the roots of a tree. Usually these natural fortresses are further reinforced by the addition of a pile of sticks and miscellaneous materials piled helter skelter over the nest. The nest itself is quite large, usually a foot or more in diameter, built of the softest and warmest materials at hand. Somewhere adjacent to the nest will be found one or more caches of food against the time when the snows are deep and famine stalks the land. As has been mentioned, the woodrat is usually associated with the pines of the Transition Life Zone and above, and pine nuts are one of its most popular items of food. Acorns, seeds, berries, stone fruits, and some vegetation round out its vegetable diet. It will also eat meat whenever available although, except for insects, shows little inclination to kill its own. With such a varied menu, it seems entirely proper to call this rodent omnivorous.