The Hispid Cotton Rat is a native American rodent that can be up to a foot long from the tip of its nose to the tip of its tail – but it is usually smaller in Florida. This rodent has dense, long fur that is light colored at the base, brown towards the tip, and the tip is often black – giving the rodent a rather grizzled appearance. Hispid Cotton Rats are prolific, capable of producing as many as nine broods in a year – but their average life expectancy is less than a year. This is a species native to open, sunny, tall grass areas throughout the state and is a very important component of Florida’s natural ecosystems because it is food for most of our hawks and owls, and many snakes, and mammalian predators. Hispid Cotton Rats are also occasionally a problem species – especially because of their fondness for sugar cane and other succulent crops.
Hispid Cotton Rat
