San Quintín Kangaroo rat: a resilience story

In 2017, when members from Terra Peninsular and researchers from The Nat were in the Valle Tranquilo Nature Reserve conducting routine monitoring of small mammal communities, they found an individual of the San Quintín kangaroo rat (Dipodomys gravipes), which was thought to be extinct since 1986.

This achievement encouraged the “K-Rat team” to conduct a survey to look for the kangaroo rat inside the Monte Ceniza Nature Reserve in San Quintín, and they found it as well!

The kangaroo rat might be a small species with a narrow distribution in western Baja California, but rediscovering it represents a worldwide victory for conservation!

Why? Because climate change and habitat loss are increasing the number of extinct species. Finding the kangaroo rat within two nature reserves certified as areas voluntarily destined for conservation by the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (Conanp) is positive evidence of the success of these protected areas in Mexico. Now, thanks to a joint conservation effort, the Valle Tranquilo and Monte Ceniza nature reserves represent a safe habitat for the kangaroo rat; therefore, they are priority areas for conservation.