Most people wouldn’t rejoice at seeing a rat. But with rounded ears, a bulbous body, chubby cheeks, and cinnamon and gray coloring, the riparian woodrat appears more cute than contemptible.
In October, biologists discovered something remarkable during a routine check of traps set at the San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge to catch and survey the endangered riparian brush rabbit, which also is unique to this region.
“We approached it and did a double take because we were just looking at their rumps, and if you don’t see their tail right away, it could look like a rabbit,” said Jaime Rudd, director of the Endangered Species Recovery Program (ESRP) at California State University, Stanislaus.
“Then it turned around, and we were like, ‘Well, that’s not a rabbit head,’ and it’s definitely not a black rat. After years of hearing about them being out here, and then to actually see one, it’s like a unicorn sitting right in front of us, and he’s beautiful,” she said.
Rudd described making many excited calls that morning, and after marking the male woodrat, it was photographed and released. As she continued checking the rest of the traps, Rudd and her team were surprised again. “We walked to another trap, and sure enough, there was another woodrat, an adult female,” she said. “We caught two woodrats on that trap line that morning. And it was just really, really exciting.”…