Neotoma macrotis
Silhouette: T. Michael Keesey · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The big-eared woodrat (Neotoma macrotis) is a nocturnal rodent of the woodrat genus Neotoma, in the family Cricetidae. Closely related to, and formerly included in the species Neotoma fuscipes, it is endemic to western North America and occurs west and south of the Salinas Valley from the California Coast Ranges south of Monterey Bay to northern Baja California, as well as in the Sierra Nevada, extending north to the South Fork American River.
The big-eared woodrat is light to dark brown in color, often with a lighter underside. It has characteristically large mobile ears, large eyes, and a long, fur covered tail. It is a primarily arboreal herbivore and functions as an important keystone species in oak and other forest ecosystems.
Although often misconstrued to be related to common rats, woodrats are not in fact part of the genus Rattus and are quite biologically and behaviorally different from them. See pack rat for similar species to the big-eared woodrat.
Following a morphological and molecular analysis conducted in 2002, the big-eared woodrat (Neotoma macrotis) was upgraded from a subspecies of the dusky-footed woodrat (Neotoma fuscipes) to be recognized as its own... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Diego | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Los Angeles | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Big-eared Woodrat sighting in Los Angeles on a given day, based on 17 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 24th most-seen of the 33 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Big-eared Woodrat in Los Angeles on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Big-eared Woodrat sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 2 cities where we can rate Big-eared Woodrat sightings, Los Angeles ranks 2nd at under 5%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in San Diego (United States, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Big-eared Woodrat is recorded against all the mammals logged in Los Angeles (17 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
