Washington mammals

Common Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel in Washington

Callospermophilus lateralis

Native to Washington S5 Secure in Washington

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

Common golden-mantled ground squirrel on a fallen log, showing its plain face and striped sidesCommon golden-mantled ground squirrel perched on a wooden railGolden-mantled ground squirrel sitting upright beside a trail railingCommon golden-mantled ground squirrel crossing a sunlit logClose view of a golden-mantled ground squirrel with no facial stripes
Photo: stephen · CC BY 4.0Common golden-mantled ground squirrel on a fallen log, showing its plain face and striped sidesPhoto: Karen Kincy · CC BY 4.0Common golden-mantled ground squirrel perched on a wooden railPhoto: Karen Kincy · CC BY 4.0Golden-mantled ground squirrel sitting upright beside a trail railingPhoto: stephen · CC BY 4.0Common golden-mantled ground squirrel crossing a sunlit logPhoto: Darrin LeBlanc · CC BY 4.0Close view of a golden-mantled ground squirrel with no facial stripes

Common Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel in Washington, by the numbers

Rare in Washington 99th most recorded of 145 mammals logged in Washington

125 occurrence records
21 with iNaturalist photos
May 25, 2026 Last seen in Washington

Records from 2000–2026.

125 total records count every Washington occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 120; the monthly chart covers the 120 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Common Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel in Washington

Most sightings fall in July.

120 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
January0
February0
March0
April5
May8
June21
July49
August25
September12
October0
November0
December0

Monthly common golden-mantled ground squirrel occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Washington, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in Washington, with recorded sightings peaking in July.

Occurrence map

Where Common Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel has been recorded in Washington

120 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

120 Washington records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness 7
Salmo-Priest Wilderness 7
Goat Rocks Wilderness 2
Daniel J. Evans Wilderness Area 1

Protected places with the most common golden-mantled ground squirrel 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
Columbia County 26
Pend Oreille County 24
Garfield County 21
Skamania County 16
Asotin County 11
Chelan County 4
Yakima County 3
Kittitas County 3
Lewis County 3
Clallam County 2
Okanogan County 2
Ferry County 1
4 other counties 9

The complete county distribution, spread across 16 Washington counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

For common golden mantled ground squirrel, the state overlay brings together 125 Washington records since 2000. iNaturalist accounts for 21 records and GBIF for 125; those figures describe reporting systems, not animals on the ground. On the atlas scale, the species occupies position 89 of 126.

The monthly maximum occurs in July with 49 records; its minimum is January in 0. The most concrete location detail is Colville National Forest, associated with 2 records. Those signals belong to reporting history and should not be treated as relative population size.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Common golden-mantled ground squirrel on a fallen log, showing its plain face and striped sides
Full species profile Common Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel Callospermophilus lateralis Size 23–32 cm9.1–12.6 in Weight 120–350 g4.2–12.3 oz Lifespan 7 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
  • 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"