Washington mammals

American Ermine in Washington

Mustela erminea

Native to Washington

Not listed as nonindigenous in Washington by USGS NAS; treated as native to its mapped Washington range.

IUCN Red List status

  1. LC
  2. NT
  3. VU
  4. EN
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX

LC – Least Concern

Widespread and abundant; not at risk.

Mustela Erminea headMustela erminea hibernicaMustela erminea uprightAmerican ermine standing alert on a wooden beamAmerican ermine peering from a mossy den entranceAmerican ermine in white winter coat crossing an alpine talus slope
Photo: Keven Law from Los Angeles, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0Mustela Erminea headPhoto: Alastair Rae from London, United Kingdom · CC BY-SA 2.0Mustela erminea hibernicaPhoto: Steve Hillebrand, USFWS · Public domainMustela erminea uprightPhoto: Robbie Hannawacker · CC0American ermine standing alert on a wooden beamPhoto: miaow7477 · CC0American ermine peering from a mossy den entrancePhoto: Игорь Загребин · CC0American ermine in white winter coat crossing an alpine talus slope

American Ermine in Washington, by the numbers

Occasional in Washington 62nd most recorded of 145 mammals logged in Washington

118 occurrence records
92 with iNaturalist photos

Records from 2000–2026.

118 total records count every Washington occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 113; the monthly chart covers the 113 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the American Ermine in Washington

Most sightings fall in July to September.

113 Washington occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence.

Monthly Washington records (table)
MonthRecords
January13
February3
March8
April4
May9
June9
July18
August18
September19
October7
November1
December4

Monthly american ermine occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Washington, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in Washington, with recorded sightings peaking in July–September, with a smaller rise in January.

Occurrence map

Where American Ermine has been recorded in Washington

113 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

111 Washington records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Mount Rainier National Park 9
Washington State Department of Natural Resources (WADNR) State Resource Management Area 7
Daniel J. Evans Wilderness Area 3
Alpine Lakes Wilderness 2
Ross Lake National Recreation Area 2
Pasayten Wilderness 1
North Cascades National Park 1
Gifford Pinchot National Forest 1

Protected places with the most american ermine sightings, from the USGS Protected Areas Database plus named mountain ranges, good spots to look, not a full breakdown, so they don't sum to the total.

Where it's recorded in Washington

CountyRecords
Okanogan County 18
Whatcom County 14
King County 14
Clallam County 13
Pierce County 12
Snohomish County 6
Jefferson County 6
Clark County 5
Skagit County 3
Spokane County 3
Thurston County 2
Pend Oreille County 2
9 other counties 20

The complete county distribution, spread across 21 Washington counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

In Washington, the American ermine is represented by 118 records since 2000. Of those, 92 come from iNaturalist and 79 from GBIF, and the two sources overlap.

Seasonally, September leads with 19 records, with July and August close behind at 18 each, while November has just 1. Mount Rainier National Park holds the most records of any named place, with 9. These counts describe reporting, not population density.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

American Ermine in other states

Mustela Erminea head
Full species profile American Ermine Mustela erminea Size 17–33 cm6.7–13 in Weight 70–260 g2.5–9.2 oz Lifespan Up to 12.5 yr View the full profile

More mammals in Washington in the atlas

Data & sources

The data and visualizations on this page draw on these open sources:

  • GBIFCC-BY 4.0occurrence records behind the range map, elevation, and record counts
  • iNaturalistCC0 / CC-BY / CC-BY-SAobservations, photos, and audio recordings
  • IUCN Red Listattributed factthe global conservation status
  • USGS NASpublic domainnative / introduced status
  • Natural Earthpublic domainthe relief basemap
  • USFSpublic domainnational-forest boundaries
  • USGS Protected Areas Databasepublic domainthe named parks, forests, and refuges behind "notable places to look"