MAMMALS OF THE REGION 79 



The white-throated wood rat is one of the smaller 

 species, with round tail, large ears, and soft pretty fur 

 of a buffy gray color over the upper parts, and all white 

 below. 



GRAY WOOD RAT 



Neotoma micropus canescens (Fig. 27) 



These ashen gray wood rats are numerous all over 

 the valley country and even up over the open tops of 

 the ridges, living away from the rocks in houses of their 

 own construction under cactuses, yuccas, agaves, and 

 other thorny or spiked vegetation. Often a heap of 

 many bushels of cactus joints, thorny twigs, and 

 branches, mixed with sticks, stones, dried cow-chips, 

 bones, and other trash is seen in the midst of a cactus 

 or lechuguilla patch, around the base of a dagger- 

 leaved yucca, or in a bush of allthorn or spiny mesquite. 

 Numerous doorways enter the house from the sides and 

 edges, and inside is a roomy dwelling place for the wood 

 rats, where they may be safe and comfortable in their 

 thorny strongholds, safe from many, but not all, of 

 their enemies. The weasels and little striped skunks, 

 the big bull snakes and rattlesnakes, can enter therein, 

 and men can tear the houses to pieces with long sticks 

 and catch the occupants. Still the wood rats are safe 

 enough to become very numerous where there is plenty 

 of cactus and other thorny material, and on some of 

 the cactus-covered flats their .houses will average two 

 or three to an acre, and locally even more. Comfort- 

 able nests in the rooms of the houses or in hollowed-out 



