A wide-eyed kangaroo rat sits hunched in darkness among sparse tufts of desert plant life. But the diminutive rodent isn’t alone in the Arizona desert. Just inches away, a deadly sidewinder ...

Kangaroo rats bury manzanita seeds and keep them from heating up too much when a fire passes through. The smoke and ash from these fires increase germination of these seeds, creating more manzanitas.

Jerboa vs. Kangaroo Rat: Classification. Members of the 33 jerboa species belong to five subfamilies under the family Dipodidae, consisting of birch mice and jumping mice.The family Dipodidae gets ...

Kangaroo rats are considered by ecologists to be critical for dispersing seeds and aerating the desert soil with their extensive networks of burrows, spending most of their outdoor time foraging. They ...

The Santa Cruz kangaroo rat, more closely related to chipmunks and gophers than kangaroos or rats, had not been spotted in the area since the 1940s. Kangaroo rat offers clues about health of Santa ...

"Kangaroo rats that responded quickly were frequently able to jump clear of the snake completely, leaving the serpent biting nothing but dust as the kangaroo rat rocketed seven to eight body ...

“Kangaroo rats that responded quickly were frequently able to jump clear of the snake completely, leaving the serpent biting nothing but dust as the kangaroo rat rocketed seven to eight body ...

And this young kangaroo rat is hunting for seeds blowing across the sand. He's not eating the seeds, but rather storing them in his cheek pouches and bringing them back to his burrow for safekeeping.

When California declared the San Bernardino kangaroo rat an endangered species recently, conservationists rejoiced. The state designation seemed to promise stronger protections for the tiny, seed ...

The San Quintín kangaroo rat was last seen in 1989 and despite survey efforts, hadn't been seen since. The Mexico government declared the animal extinct in 1994.

Kangaroo rats are considered a “keystone species,” integral to maintaining a balanced and thriving ecosystem. Their caches of buried seeds help give rise to a new generation of manzanita plants.