Are you a pack rack? You definitely would be if you were an Eastern Woodrat. Pack Rat is the most common name given to this long-tailed rodent, found in parts of Missouri and many other states.
The story of this rat, the Neotoma floridana, is a unique one. Though the Eastern Woodrat is found in several areas of the eastern and southeastern U.S., there’s no reference of the species until it was mentioned in the journals of Lewis and Clark. The first sighting was on May 31, 1804 in what is now Osage County, Missouri. The first taxonomic description of the rodent wouldn’t be written until 1818 by American naturalist George Ord.
Eastern Woodrats have a body length of 12 to 17 inches, weigh between 6 to 12 ounces, and eat all types of plant foods – buds, leaves, stems, bark, roots, fruits, nuts and grasses. But they drink very little water, getting most of their moisture from the foods they eat.
021517
