Woodrats

One of my self-imposed responsibilities as a blogger is to bring you news from sources you might ordinarily miss, such as the Pennsylvania Game News.  

The October issue contains an article about a Delaware Valley College program to help woodrats, a species on the “threatened” list since 1983.  The College has received 11 woodrats  for breeding and reintroduction purposes.  Incidentally, woodrats are like mice with a furred tail--nothing like the more familiar Norway rats.

Carl G. Roe, the Game Commission executive director, said about woodrats: They are a species of greatest conservation concern that the Game Commission’s Wildlife Action Plan has designated as in immediate need of assistance.  Because they are specialists at surviving in remote, rocky forested landscapes, woodrats provide a mechanism of monitoring the health of these unique and fragile ecosystems.  The woodrat’s decline is a red flag, and we are seeking to reverse the trend.

One of the problems is that the habitat is being cut into small pieces by development, roads, and Marcellus shale activities.  I personally have not seen one, but I hope we are able to save them.  I would hate to see another Pennsylvania mammal become extinct.