WHAT’S IN YOUR
POUCH?
KANGAROO RAT FACTS
HANNAH GREENHOUSE
1
From Pup on Up
FOUND IN DESERTS IN THE WEST AND SW USA !
LIVE IN UNDERGROUND BURROWS
!
NOCTURNAL !
MOVE BY HOPPING ON THEIR HIND FEET AND
BALANCING WITH THEIR TAILS !
LIFESPAN 2-5 YEARS !
CAN GIVE BIRTH TO AS MANY AS 21 YOUNG
PER YEAR
!
TOTAL LENGTH BETWEEN 9-14 IN.
!
SEED EATING !
STRONG HEARING
!
2
Where’s the Water?
LIVE IN ARID ENVIRONMENTS
!
NEVER DRINK WATER !
GET WATER FROM SEEDS AND GRASS
!
STORE SEEDS FOR 30% MORE MOISTURE
!
DO NOT SWEAT OR PANT !
SPECIALIZED KIDNEYS
!
CONDENSE MOISTURE !
BODY TEMPERATURE IS HIGHER THAN
THEIR ENVIRONMENT !
SWEAT GLANDS IN THEIR FEET
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Marsupial: Fact or Fiction
RODENT
!
MEMBER OF THE HETEROMYIDAE
FAMILY
!
CLOSEST RELATIVE IS THE POCKET
GOPHER !
FUR-LINED CHEEK POUCHES !
CAN JUMP NINE FEET AT A TIME
!
LONG TAILS AND HIND FEET
4
Giant Kangaroo Rat
LARGEST OF THE 20 KANGAROO RAT
SPECIES
!
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY !
5 TOES ON HIND LEGS
!
LIVES ON CLAY SOIL !
ENDANGERED !
BODY LENGTH: 31.1-34.7 CM TAIL LENGTH: 15.7-19.8 CM OUR HANDS ARE ABOUT 15 CM !
95% OF THEIR HABITAT HAS BEEN
DESTROYED
5
Stephen’s Kangaroo Rat
EAT MOSTLY SEEDS, INSECTS, AND PLANTS
!
LIVE IN BURROWS AND COME OUT FOR
ABOUT ONE HOUR EVERY NIGHT Stephen
!
MAKES DRUMMING NOISES WITH ITS FEET !
BODY LENGTH: 27.7-30 CM TAIL LENGTH 16.4-18 CM !
HAVE 1-6 YOUNG PER YEAR !
DUST BATHE
!
USE BURROWS FROM POCKET GOPHERS
OR GROUND SQUIRRELS !
TERRITORIAL AND SOLITARY 6
Relevant Dates
1980: GIANT KANGAROO RAT
ENDANGERED IN CALIFORNIA
!
1987: LISTED AS A FEDERALLYENDANGERED SPECIES !
1993: 242 TIPTON KANGAROO RATS
STUDIED AT THE ALLENSWORTH
ECOLOGICAL RESERVE
!
1996: TEXAS KANGAROO RAT LOSES
STATUS AS ENDANGERED SPECIES !
1998: 2 TIPTON KANGAROO RATS
STUDIED AT THE ALLENSWORTH
ECOLOGICAL RESERVE !
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Leaping into the News
ENDANGERED SPECIES PREVENT
BUILDING PROJECTS !
STEPHEN’S KANGAROO RAT AND
RIVERSIDE COUNTY, SOUTHERN
CALIFORNIA (1993) !
PRESCRIBED BURNINGS
REQUIRED
!
FIRES BECAME OUT OF HAND
AND MANY HOMES BURNED
DOWN !
8
Who let the rats out?
6 OF THE 20 SPECIES ARE
ENDANGERED !
PROBLEMS BEGAN IN THE 1950S:
FARMERS USED PEST CONTROL
ROADS DESTROYED THEIR HABITAT
FIND MATES BY HITTING HIND LEGS
ON THE GROUND, DEVELOPMENT
MADE THIS DIFFICULT
!
PROTECTED HABITAT SIZE HAS
BEEN DECREASING !
USING SATELLITES TO FIND TRUE
SIZE OF POPULATION
9
Rat Facts
NO FOSSILS TO SHOW EVOLUTION OF
THE KANGAROO RAT !
59 SPECIES IN THE HETEROMYIDAE FAMILY !
DUST BATHE AFTER VENTURING OUTSIDE !
MORE FACIAL MUSCLES THAN THE
MAJORITY OF MAMMALS (42) HUMANS ONLY HAVE 33 !
AS THEY MOVE AT NIGHT THEIR
WHISKERS ALWAYS TOUCH THE GROUND !
CAN LAST LONGER WITHOUT WATER
THAN CAMELS 10
Bibliography
"Giant Kangaroo Rat." Our Endangered Animals. Konica Minolta, 2015. Web. 18 Feb. 2015.
!
"Giant Kangaroo Rat." Wildlife. Los PadresForestWatch, 2013. Web. 20 Feb. 2015.
!
"Kangaroo Rats." Animals. DesertUSA, 2015. Web. 18 Feb. 2015.
!
"Kangaroo Rats." Biodiversity and Organisms. SUNY Geneseo, n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2015.
!
"Kangaroo Rat Fact Sheet." Animal Fact Sheets. Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, 2015. Web. 19 Feb. 2015.
!
Quraishi, Jen. "Cute Endangered Animal: Kangaroo Rat." Animals and Climate Change. Mother Jones, 15 July 2009
Web. 19 Feb. 2015.
!
Rogers, Kara. "Riverside's Rodent: The Kangaroo Rat That Stood Up to Development." Current Week. Science Frida
22 Oct. 2012. Web. 19 Feb. 2015.
!
Rosmarino, Nicole. "Texas Kangaroo Rat Could Gain Endangered Status." News. WildEarth Guardians, 8 Mar. 2011.
Web. 20 Feb. 2015.
!
"Stephens' Kangaroo Rat." Mammals. Wildscreen Arkive, n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2015.
!
United States National Park Service. "Kangaroo Rat." Nature and Science. U.S National Park Service, 19 Feb. 2015.
Web. 19 Feb. 2015.
!
Uptain, Curtis E. "The Status of Tipton Rats and the Potential for Their Recovery." TWS West (1999): 1-10.
Transactions of the Western Section of the Wildlife Society. Wildlife Society, 1999. Web. 20 Feb. 2015.
!
Weston, Paula. "Kangaroo Rats." Mammals. Answers in Genesis, 1 June 2001. Web. 20 Feb. 2015.
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