Oregon mammals

Botta's Pocket Gopher in Oregon

Thomomys bottae

Native to Oregon S4 Apparently Secure in Oregon

Not listed as nonindigenous in Oregon by USGS NAS; native to its Oregon 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.

Botta's Pocket Gopher (Thomomys bottae)Botta's pocket gopher (Thomomys bottae)DSC2910vvBotta's pocket gopher (Thomomys bottae)DSC2908vvBotta's pocket gopher peering from a burrow with a foreleg braced on the rimBotta's pocket gopher emerging from a fresh soil mound on a lawnBotta's pocket gopher peeking from a burrow mouth among dead leaves
Photo: Chuck Abbe · CC BY 2.0Botta's Pocket Gopher (Thomomys bottae)Photo: VJAnderson · CC BY-SA 4.0Botta's pocket gopher (Thomomys bottae)DSC2910vvPhoto: VJAnderson · CC BY-SA 4.0Botta's pocket gopher (Thomomys bottae)DSC2908vvPhoto: Jonathan Eisen · CC BY 4.0Botta's pocket gopher peering from a burrow with a foreleg braced on the rimPhoto: Nina S. Zhao · CC BY 4.0Botta's pocket gopher emerging from a fresh soil mound on a lawnPhoto: Don Wellmann · CC0Botta's pocket gopher peeking from a burrow mouth among dead leaves

Botta's Pocket Gopher in Oregon, by the numbers

Occasional in Oregon 69th most recorded of 178 mammals logged in Oregon

136 occurrence records

Records from 2000–2026.

When to look for the Botta's Pocket Gopher in Oregon

Most sightings fall in June.

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

Monthly Oregon records (table)
MonthRecords
January31
February0
March8
April7
May15
June58
July7
August1
September4
October0
November3
December2

Monthly botta's pocket gopher occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Oregon, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in Oregon, with recorded sightings peaking in June.

Occurrence map

Where Botta's Pocket Gopher has been recorded in Oregon

136 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

136 Oregon records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Rogue River National Forest 5

Protected places with the most botta's pocket gopher 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 Oregon

CountyRecords
Jackson County 67
Curry County 38
Josephine County 30
Harney County 1

The complete county distribution, spread across 4 Oregon counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

All nine Oregon observations in the monthly series fall in June, which says more about the narrow record than about the gopher’s actual season. Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, Steens Mountain, and John Day Fossil Beds are the overlay’s suggested search areas, while the state rank is S4 (Apparently Secure). Neither that rank nor the nine reports is an abundance estimate, and unrecorded areas should not be read as empty.

Botta's Pocket Gopher (Thomomys bottae)
Full species profile Botta's Pocket Gopher Thomomys bottae Size 18–27 cm7.1–10.6 in Weight 160–250 g5.6–8.8 oz Lifespan Up to 6.1 yr View the full profile

More mammals in Oregon 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
  • NatureServe ExplorerCC-BYthe state conservation rank
  • 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"