Desert Woodrat (Neotoma lepida) Nests
Mammals Around Las Vegas, Wildlife Around Las Vegas
 Desert Woodrats seem to prefer to nest in cracks and caves (such as this little hole) where predators can't dig them out. |
 They do, however, still armor the entrance, perhaps to discourage snakes from crawling in after them. |
 Nest in a crack in a rock wall |
 Plant material and woodrat scat at nest entrance |
 Nest in a hole in a rock wall |
 Nest in a hole in a rock wall |
 Rocks and sticks piled up around and on a boulder |
 Nest in the engine of a crashed jet fighter (F-100D) |
 When nothing else is available ... stones piled under a bush |
 When nothing else is available ... stones piled under a bush |
 Desert Woodrat nest in an old mine building |
 Desert Woodrat nest in an old mine building |
 Desert Woodrat nest in an old mine building |
 Desert Woodrat nest: details of Joshua tree leaves piled on the nest |
 Desert Woodrat nest in old building debris |
 This woodrat has been collecting vegetation |
 Small woodrat nest beneath a Joshua Tree |
 With only rock and gravel, pile up the gravel! |
 In places without caves or cracks, woodrats will pile up stuff to make a fortified nest. In this case, the woodrats used cholla cactus spines. |
 Close-up of cactus spines. I suspect that this would deter most predators from trying to dig out the woodrat. |
 Woodrats build this nest in a pile of stones left along a highway after construction. |
 With all the big stones at the base, this nest looks fairly safe, but there are not cactus spines here. |
 Woodrats built this nest around the base of a Banana Yucca. They mostly piled sticks around the base of the plant. |
 Without lots of cactus spines for defense, this woodrat nest was dug up by predators, probably coyotes or kit foxes. |
 In an unusual example, woodrats built a nest inside the carcass of a cow. I imagine the hide makes for a dry roof and some degree of protection from predators. |
 Woodrats are nothing if not ingenious. Here a woodrat filled an old tire with sticks and cactus spines. It doesn't like anyone wants to dig into that! |
 Close-up of rocks, sticks, and cactus on a nest |
 Nest of dead sticks and cactus spines |
 Nest in fork of tree trunks |
 Close-up of nest in fork of tree trunks |
Note: All distances, elevations, and other facts are approximate.
; Last updated 231223
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