Comprehensive Description

Cotton mice are among the most common small mammals in South Florida and throughout the southeastern United States, but the Key Largo cotton mouse is endemic to (i.e., found only in) Key Largo. Although at one time it occurred throughout the tropical hardwood hammocks in the Upper Keys south to near Tavernier, today the Key Largo cotton mouse is restricted to the northernmost portion of Key Largo. Urbanization of Key Largo has decimated the tropical hardwood hammock forests and has reduced the availability of food, shelter, and habitat for the Key Largo cotton mouse, threatening its continued existence (USFWS 1999).