Nature Note: The Allegheny Woodrat
By Joe Settles

There is nothing more pleasing to my ears than hearing the words: “Look at the size of that rat!” Of course I’m not talking about hearing the words at the dinner table with a room full of guests or after having a big meal at your favorite restaurant (after you have already paid the check – of course!). I am referring to hearing those words when I am surveying caves or clifflines, and we run across a lovable creature known as the woodrat (Neotoma magister).

Woodrats are one of our native species of rat! Most people associate rats with the nasty little buggers you find in a dumpster, but those are European invaders known as Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus).

Woodrats live in Kentucky wherever there are caves, cliffs, or rocky outcrops. They are found throughout the Cumberland Plateau in eastern Kentucky, and they are locally common in areas such as the Mammoth Cave region. Woodrats are absent from the Bluegrass Region.

Woodrats are also known as pack rats, because these rodents tend to collect sticks, leaves, fruits, and anything else that tickles their fancy. I have found soda bottles, tennis balls, foil, chip bags, and a variety of shiny things tucked away in a woodrat’s den.

They forage away from the cliffline and boulder areas at night foraging on twigs and berries or other vegetation. Woodrats normally have a litter of 1 to 3 youngsters, and they may have 3 to 4 litters per year.

Woodrats rarely come into contact with humans. So the next time someone does some rat bashing, you can rest easy knowing they haven’t gotten one of Kentucky’s critters. They are pummeling an overseas invader. God bless the USA!

Joe Settles is a biologist with Kentucky’s Touchstone Energy Cooperatives