Woodrats are most often found in caves and rocky cliffs, but may also be found in wooded bottomlands, swamps, and in outbuildings and abandoned structures. Several woodrats have been found living in the rocky cliffs and fissures near The Sinks on Little River. Many individuals and their nests have also been discovered in and around old buildings in the park. This species occurs from the lowest elevations of the Park, up to approximately 2,500 feet in elevation. Woodrats construct a football-sized nest of shredded bark and grasses which is covered and surrounded by a pile of sticks and twigs that may be up to nine feet in diameter and four to five feet high.

Species Measurements:
- Adult Total Length: 350-425 mm (14-17 in.)
- Tail: 150-200 mm (6-8 in.)
- Hind Foot: 35-40 mm (1⅜-1⅝ in.)
- Weight: 200-365 g (7-12? oz.)

Physical Characteristics:
The fur of the Allegheny woodrat is brownish-gray with black-tipped hairs. The throat, belly, and feet are whitish. The eyes are large, the ears are large and sparsely haired, and the vibrissae are long.

Habitat:
Woodrats are most often found in caves and rocky cliffs, but may also be found in wooded bottomlands, swamps, and in outbuildings and abandoned structures.

Reproduction:
Woodrats construct a football-sized nest of shredded bark and grasses which is covered and surrounded by a pile of sticks and twigs that may be up to nine feet in diameter and four to five feet high. The debris heap may consist of eight to ten bushels or more of material. Most nests are on the ground, but near Chambers Creek a woodrat was frightened from a nest located 10 feet above ground in a dense growth of privet (Stupka, 1961). A nest found at Abrams Creek Ranger Station on September 13 contained a nursing female and two young approximately 10 days old. Nursing females have also been taken on April 24 and on August 14. A half-grown individual and two very small immature specimens were collected at Big Creek between October 1 - 4, 1950.

Several litters usually consist of two to four young are produced from spring to fall. Following a gestation of about 35 days, a litter averaging two young (range 1-4) is born. Females may produce several litters annually. Newborn young have their eyes and ears closed and are sparsely covered with hair. The eyes open during the third week. Weaning usually occurs between three and four weeks of age. Females probably do not breed until they are one year old.

Longevity:
Woodrats have survived at least 45 months in the wild (Mengak, 1997).

Terrestrial Ecology:
Woodrats are primarily nocturnal, and are active all year. Their senses of smell, sight, hearing, and touch are well developed. "Foot thumping" has been observed in this species and serves as a warning or alarm note.

Feeding Behavior:
Food consists primarily of fruits, berries, nuts, seeds, bark, and grasses. Individuals taken in October in the park were found to have fed on pokeweed berries (Phytolacca sp.). A dead woodrat found along the Little River Road in October had a 2-inch sprig of poison ivy (Rhus radicans) with berries in its mouth (Linzey, 1995b).

Predators and Defense:
Owls, bobcats, foxes, and weasels are probably the most important predators.

Parasites:
Eight woodrats examined in the park during October 1950, were infested with fleas. Fleas have also been found in several nests (Linzey, 1995b).

Allegheny woodrats range from southeastern New York, southwest through much of Pennsylvania, extreme southern Ohio and Indiana, through western Maryland, all of West Virginia, most of Kentucky, and the western reaches of Virginia and North Carolina south through much of Tennessee, and into northern Alabama and most of northwestern Georgia (Whitaker and Hamilton, 1998).

Several woodrats have been found living in the rocky cliffs and fissures near The Sinks on the Little River. Many individuals and their nests have also been discovered in and around old buildings in the park. This species occurs from the lowest elevations of the Park, up to approximately 2,500 feet.

References:

Hayes, J.P. 1999. Allegheny woodrat. Pages 607-608. In: D.E. Wilson, and S. Ruff (eds.). The Smithsonian Book of North American Mammals. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C.

Linzey, D. W. 1995a. Mammals of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The McDonald & Woodward Publishing Company, Inc., Blacksburg, Virginia.

Linzey, D. W. 1995b. Mammals of Great Smoky Mountains National Park-1995 Update. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 111(1): 1-81.

Linzey, D. W. 1998. The Mammals of Virginia. The McDonald & Woodward Publishing Company, Inc., Blacksburg, Virginia.

Mengak, M.T. 1997. New Field Records for Longevity in Allegheny woodrats (Neotoma magister). Banisteria 10: 27-28.

Stupka, A. 1935-63. Nature Journal, Great Smoky Mountains National Park. 28 vols. (years) each with index. (Typewritten copy in files of Great Smoky Mountains National Park library).

Whitaker, J.O., Jr. and W.J. Hamilton Jr. 1998. Mammals of the Eastern United States. Ithaca, New York: Comstock Publishing Associates.

Wiley, R.W. 1980. Neotoma floridana. Mammalian Species No. 139: 1-7. American Society of Mammalogists.