This fall, Cincinnati Museum Center (CMC) and The Nature
Conservancy (TNC) are assisting the Ohio Division of Wildlife (ODOW) in an
effort to conserve and protect the Allegheny woodrat, Neotoma magister.
 |
| Sub-adult male Allegheny woodrat caught in southern portion of Edge of Appalachia Preserve Photo by: Rich McCarty |
Last year,
a blog post was written here, introducing our efforts to search for new woodrat sites on the Edge
of Appalachia Preserve and neighboring properties. We mapped all new sites, recorded fresh Allegheny woodrat activity and collected raccoon scat. The raccoon is known to be a carrier of
a roundworm that, if ingested by woodrats, can wipe out entire populations. These "packrats" collect many things, including raccoon scat, to store in their middens, and if so, could contaminate not only themselves, but any other rat in the area. The removal of said scat could prove
paramount in protecting this species from extirpation. This entire project is headed by biologists
Al LeCount and Cheryl Mollohan.
 |
| Ideal habitat or Allegheny woodrat. Peebles dolostone cliffs jetting out of hillside with many cracks and tunnels. Photo by: Robyn Wright Strauss |
This year, CMC and TNC staff along with assistants Laura
Hughes and Emily Garnich, have teamed up with these mammal biologists to capture
as many Allegheny woodrats as possible in all known active sites in southern Adams County. Once captured, small tissue samples are
collected from the animal's ear, minor processing occurs, and the animal is
released. These curious and I’d have to
say adorable rodents are lured into live traps with apples, rodent nutrition
blocks and bedding.
 |
| Live traps set in "cave" of Peebles dolostone cliffs |
 |
| The curiosity of these "packrats" make them pretty easy to catch. Photo by Mark Zloba |
 |
| Allegheny woodrats kept satisfied with apple slices, nutrition block and bedding. Photo by Mark Zloba |
 |
| Allegheny woodrats are handled gently in soft cones for processing age, weight, sex etc. Photo by Rich McCarty |
Once all captures
from all known sites are processed, the collected samples will be
sent to CMC curator of zoology, Heather Farrington, for DNA analysis. Our goal is to learn population size
and health of this disappearing mammal.
 |
| Captured woodrats are released in same location they were caught. |
It may be the rarest mammal in Ohio, but more importantly, this species
is imperiled throughout its range of the Appalachian region of Eastern North
America. ODOW recognizes this species as
endangered and understands the possibility of the Allegheny woodrat becoming
non-existent in Ohio. So, they have
joined the effort to help protect and study Allegheny woodrats. Along with supporting this genetic project, ODOW has started distributing
harmless medicinal baits that will de-worm any animal that eats it. The theory is, raccoons will find the bait, eat it, and the roundworm will die before woodrats collect any scat and bring it back to their middens.
 |
| Once released, these personable rats will sometimes pose for a few pictures. Photo by Robyn Wright Strauss |
 |
| Then they scurry off to hide, sometimes in a poor hiding spot. Photo by Mark Zloba |
More information to come on this large conservation
project. Many woodrats have been
captured to date, and hopefully many more will be captured this fall to obtain
the best genetic data possible. The Edge
of Appalachia Preserve and surrounding properties are the last stronghold of
this animal in Ohio and we would like to thank ODOW, their biologists, assistants on this endeavor to better understand the
Allegheny woodrat and hopefully save it from extirpation.
Enjoy these short videos of the releasing of the woodrats. If you turn up the volume on the first video, you might hear the thumping sound this female woodrat is making with her feet to scare us away. If you watch carefully, she continuously and quickly thumps her feet.
Posted by Mark Zloba
