Habitat: Woody areas, ravines, post oak-blackjack areas, fringe-forest ravines, upland oak woods, upland locust-planted areas, rocky bluffs in wooded ravines, and oak-elm floodplain forest.
Habits: The Eastern Woodrat builds stick houses and sometimes aerial nests for protection from predators and climatic extremes. The houses are placed in caves, crevices, brush piles, under fallen trees, or in tangles of vegetation. Toilet areas or “middens” are placed near the nest. The diet includes acorns, nuts, poison ivy, sumac, juniper berries, leaves, twigs, various fruits and berries, mushrooms, snails, grasshoppers, and scorpions. Woodrats are active all year long except during severe winters. Most adults are solitary except during mating periods. This animal often is known as the pack rat due to its habit of collecting various items including man-made articles.
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