Description:
The Hispid Cotton Rat is a relatively large rodent with hispid pelage--that is, dorsal hairs are a mixture of black or dark brown and buffy or gray hairs. It can be distinguished from other members of its family by: 1) large size, 2) scaly, thinly haired tail shorter than head plus body, 3) coarse stiff black guard hairs that give a grizzled appearance, 4) grayish-white or buffy underparts, 5) moderately large, grayish or black ears, nearly hidden by hair. Sexes are similar in appearance and size.
Some county occurrences indicated below may be too imprecise to map above.
County Breakdown: County Name (# occurrences):
Allen (3); Anderson (24); Atchison (14); Barber (82); Barton (73); Bourbon (5); Brown (3); Butler (4); Chase (13); Chautauqua (9); Cherokee (79); Cheyenne (16); Clark (5); Clay (1); Cloud (9); Coffey (4); Comanche (14); Cowley (67); Crawford (51); Dickinson (20); Doniphan (18); Douglas (485); Edwards (56); Elk (2); Ellis (358); Ellsworth (9); Finney (36); Ford (26); Franklin (8); Geary (18); Gove (1); Graham (1); Grant (8); Gray (2); Greeley (1); Greenwood (167); Hamilton (16); Harper (56); Harvey (37); Haskell (5); Hodgeman (1); Jackson (3); Jefferson (224); Jewell (26); Johnson (4); Kingman (18); Kiowa (47); Labette (17); Lane (2); Leavenworth (26); Lincoln (11); Linn (4); Logan (14); Lyon (64); Marion (11); Marshall (5); McPherson (21); Meade (197); Miami (48); Mitchell (22); Montgomery (26); Morton (57); Neosho (50); Norton (1); Osage (61); Osborne (7); Ottawa (1); Pawnee (9); Phillips (42); Pratt (6); Rawlins (22); Reno (35); Rice (3); Riley (24); Rooks (57); Rush (7); Russell (76); Saline (43); Scott (5); Sedgwick (8); Seward (3); Shawnee (6); Sheridan (1); Smith (4); Stafford (8); Stanton (9); Stevens (8); Sumner (52); Trego (58); Wabaunsee (9); Wallace (2); Washington (6); Wilson (6); Woodson (10); Wyandotte (1);
Natural History:
Hispid Cotton Rats live in grassy fields, weedy patches, roadside ditches, marshy areas, and heavy vegetation at the edges of forests. They do not hibernate and are active throughout the year. Large cotton rats accumulate fat stores that allow them to reduce activity in the coldest of winter weather. They do not dig extensive burrows, but may use burrows of other small mammals. Hispid cotton rats forage from dusk through dawn year-round and are active during daylight hours in winter. Populations undergo large numerical fluctuations annually. Peak numbers are seen in the fall with steady declines from November through May or June. Numbers, both in Kansas and throughout the species' range, also vary greatly from one year to the next. Population density may be near zero or as high as 100 per hectare (40 per acre) at the same place. Cotton rats wear runways into the soil. These runways frequently contain piles of clipped vegetation, but cotton rats are not known to store food. Nests are made of dried grass and other plant fibers, and frequently are above ground, especially under rocks, boards, or in brush piles. In winter, as many as 12 rats may occupy a single nest.
Total length 202-340 mm; tail 87-122 mm, frequently broken or stubbed; hind foot 29-35 mm; ear 16-20 mm; weight 50-250 grams.
Cotton rats eat stems and leaves of grasses and other herbaceous vegetation. They also consume seeds, especially waste grain in agricultural fields, insects, and other animal material, such as young prairie voles or eggs of ground nesting birds. In Texas and further south, they can damage agricultural crops during population eruptions.
In Kansas, Hispid Cotton Rats breed from March through November. The gestation period is about 27 days, and females may breed within a few hours of giving birth. Litter size varies from 4 to 12 or more and is dependent on size of mother; large females generally have large litters. Neonates weigh around 6 grams when born, are furred, and become independent of the parents within 3 weeks. Females can breed at six weeks of age, when they weigh about 50 grams. Their high productivity is balanced by high mortality. Cotton rats are favored prey of hawks, owls, coyotes, foxes, bobcats, several species of snakes, and other small predators. They also are susceptible to death in cold, wet weather in the spring when their fat stores are low. Hispid cotton rats rarely live as much as one year in the wild, but can live several years in laboratory colonies.