Oregon mammals

Coast Mole in Oregon

Scapanus orarius

Native to Oregon S5 Secure in Oregon

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

IUCN Red List status

LC – Least Concern

Widespread and abundant; not at risk.

Photo: Riley Pollom · CC BY 4.0Coast Mole (Scapanus orarius)Photo: Grant Chovil · CC BY 4.0Coast Mole (Scapanus orarius)Photo: Sam Beaumont · CC BY 4.0Coast mole on bare soil facing the camera, showing spade-like front paws and pink snout

Coast Mole in Oregon, by the numbers

Occasional in Oregon 82nd most recorded of 178 mammals logged in Oregon

426 occurrence records

78 with iNaturalist photos

Jun 24, 2026 Last seen in Oregon

Records from 2000–2026.

426 total records count every Oregon occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300; the monthly chart covers the 418 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Coast Mole in Oregon

Most sightings fall in July to October.

418 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)

Month	Records
January	21
February	11
March	16
April	28
May	63
June	30
July	64
August	53
September	58
October	42
November	16
December	16

Monthly coast mole occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Oregon, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in Oregon, with recorded sightings peaking in July–October, with a smaller rise in May.

Occurrence map

Where Coast Mole has been recorded in Oregon

300 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

300 Oregon records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monument	iNaturalist records
Siuslaw National Forest	5
Lewis and Clark National Historical Park	2
Ladd Marsh Wildlife Area	2
McDonald-Dunn Research Forest	2
Humbug Mountain State Natural Area	1
Clay Meyers State Natural Area - (Beltz Farm)	1
Umpqua National Forest	1

Protected places with the most coast mole 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

County	Records
Lane County	63
Clackamas County	56
Tillamook County	42
Multnomah County	38
Douglas County	38
Lincoln County	30
Coos County	25
Linn County	21
Clatsop County	18
Benton County	18
Marion County	10
Curry County	9
15 other counties	58

The complete county distribution, spread across 27 Oregon counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Coast-mole records extend beyond Oregon’s immediate shoreline into the Willamette and Deschutes national forests, while the Oregon Dunes provides a useful coastal reference point. May accounts for the strongest monthly total, and the rest of the year is represented by much smaller numbers. Because subterranean mammals are usually recorded through chance finds or focused sampling, this footprint is not a measure of mole abundance.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Full species profile Coast Mole Scapanus orarius Size 12.3 cm4.8 in Weight 62 g2.2 oz Lifespan Up to 3 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"