Mammals · Rodentia · Heteromyidae

Ord's Kangaroo Rat

Dipodomys ordii

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

Ord's kangaroo rat is the most widespread of the North American kangaroo rats. It moves in hops on disproportionate hind legs and uses its long tail as a counterweight. It is a marvel of desert physiology: it never drinks, obtaining all its water from the metabolism of the dry seeds it eats, while its kidneys produce extraordinarily concentrated urine. It stores seeds in cheek pouches and keeps them in underground caches.

Weight

45 g – 95 g

Size

9 cm – 12 cm

Lifespan

5 years

Diet

Herbivore

Feeds mainly on plants.

Activity

Nocturnal

Active mainly at night.

Social structure

Solitary

Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

DesertGrasslandHerbivore Nocturnal Solitary Desert Grassland Mammal

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Fun facts

It never drinks: it gets all the water it needs from the metabolism of dry seeds, and its kidneys concentrate its urine to levels no domestic mammal could tolerate. It is the standard example of renal adaptation to the desert in any physiology textbook.
It detects the silent wingbeat of an owl or the movement of a snake thanks to hugely enlarged auditory chambers in the skull, and reacts with an explosive vertical leap that takes it out of the strike in milliseconds.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (mammal)
Habitat & environment: Sandy soils of sagebrush scrub, dunes and arid grassland of western North America
Sexual maturity: 2 months
Gestation / incubation: 29 days
Litter / clutch size: 3

Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dipodomys_ordii