Ord’s kangaroo rats (Dipodomys ordii) are conspicuous Sandhills rodents. Their large hind feet and long tails, and similar but much smaller body shape, prompted the name “kangaroo,” although they are unrelated. Kangaroo rats commonly hop across roadways on moonless nights (and never moonlit nights), using their long tails for balance. Their horizontally oriented burrow openings, with runways leading to and from, are abundant in open sandy areas with sparse vegetation. Footprints and tail drags are visible early in the morning, evidence of their nighttime activities. These seed-loving rodents have strong ecological connections to other organisms in the Sandhills.
Kangaroo rats collect seeds as food resources, storing them either in deep burrows (larder hordes) or shallower dispersals (scatter hordes). Ord’s kangaroo rats switch caching patterns seasonally in the Sandhills. They scatter-hoard seeds in warmer months when sand is loose, but in winter when the sand freezes, they become larder hoarders.
With their scatter hoards, kangaroo rats promote germination of many plant species, both grasses and forbs, dispersing seeds at optimal depths for germination. Kangaroo rats recover some of their own scatter hoards but also raid caches of others, stealing their stored seeds. Many seeds are uneaten, and eventually they germinate and emerge as new forage for cattle and native herbivores.
Although their large, round, conspicuous burrow openings are abundant throughout the Sandhills, kangaroo rats actually live in small, inconspicuous burrows. They plug these small burrows, disguising them from predators. The larger burrows have several openings and appear to function as escape tunnels to avoid predators. Although kangaroo rats do not live inside them, the open underground systems are homes for other local species such as box turtles, lizards, snakes, beetles, bees, crickets, and arachnids.