The San Bernardino Kangaroo Rat is a subspecies that lives in approximately 3200 acres of habitat west of the Morongo Basin – ranging from the San Bernardino Valley to Menifee Valley in Riverside County. According to the US Fish & Wildlife Service, those areas include the historical floodplain along the upper Santa Ana River wash and San Jacinto River.
Facing the ongoing threat of climate change and land development, the diminutive subspecies has officially been listened as endangered by the California Fish and Game Commission – joining other threatened species such as the bighorn sheep and western Joshua Tree, as well as other kangaroo rat subspecies like the Morro Bay, Tipton, Fresno, and Giant kangaroo rat.
The San Bernardino variety is one of 19 subspecies of kangaroo rat – but you’ll have to get up close to spot the differences.
They have four toes on each hind foot, while kangaroo rats in the hi-desert have five.
By listing the San Bernardino variety of kangaroo rat as endangered, The California Fish and Game Commission grants protections to the tiny creature’s habitat as well as the species itself, which is meant to curb their declining population.
Links:
Info and map of San Bernardino Kangaroo Rat’s habitat
Species on California’s Endangered & Threatened list
California Fish and Game Commission Notice of Findings for San Bernardino Kangaroo Rat
Previously reported:
