California mammals

Creeping Vole in California

Microtus oregoni

Native to California SNR Unranked in California

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

Microtus oregoniCreeping Vole (Microtus oregoni)Creeping Vole (Microtus oregoni)
Photo: Jacqui Simmons · CC BY-SA 4.0Microtus oregoniPhoto: Tristan Jobin · CC BY 4.0Creeping Vole (Microtus oregoni)Photo: Lee Cain · CC BY 4.0Creeping Vole (Microtus oregoni)

Creeping Vole in California, by the numbers

Rare in California 231st most recorded of 241 mammals logged in California

162 occurrence records
3 with iNaturalist photos

Records from 2000–2026.

When to look for the Creeping Vole in California

Most sightings fall in August.

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

Monthly California records (table)
MonthRecords
January4
February4
March6
April2
May8
June9
July14
August84
September20
October5
November3
December3

Monthly creeping vole occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in California, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in California, with recorded sightings peaking in August.

Occurrence map

Where Creeping Vole has been recorded in California

162 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

162 California records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Yolla Bolly-Middle Eel Wilderness 17
Manchester State Park 6
Redwood National Park 3
Six Rivers National Forest 1

Protected places with the most creeping vole 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 California

CountyRecords
Humboldt County 80
Tehama County 44
Trinity County 12
Del Norte County 9
Mendocino County 8
Siskiyou County 3
Other localities 6

The complete county distribution, spread across 6 California counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Creeping Vole records in California fit cool conifer forest, rocky slopes, and mountain meadows.

Reports center on the Sierra Nevada high country, with records separated from California’s hot lowlands. They show where people have documented the species, and they don’t rank California’s best habitat.

California records span more than one season. Gaps and clusters in reports can reflect when and where people looked, not true absence or abundance.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Microtus oregoni
Full species profile Creeping Vole Microtus oregoni Size 10.6 cm4.2 in Weight 19 g0.7 oz Lifespan Up to 1.3 yr View the full profile

More mammals in California 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"