Desert Woodrat

Description

Endemic to del Carmen Island in the Gulf of California, Mexico, this subspecies of Desert Woodrat can only be found on this island. Well adapted to the dry conditions of the island they often eat xerophyte or desert plants; from which they obtain the water to survive. Desert woodrats build houses of twigs, sticks, cactus parts or rocks, often in rock crevices or at the base of a cactus. They are mostly nocturnal and fiercely solitary, and may defend succulent plants and other sources of water against other animals.