Michigan mammals

Eastern Mole in Michigan

Scalopus aquaticus

Native to Michigan S5 Secure in Michigan

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

Eastern Mole (Scalopus aquaticus)Eastern mole surfacing head-first with front digging claws splayed
Photo: Bert Cash from Brunswick , USA · CC BY 2.0Eastern Mole (Scalopus aquaticus)Photo: Kenneth Catania, Vanderbilt University · CC BY-SA 3.0Front view showing the naked snout and paddle-shaped front feet

Eastern Mole in Michigan, by the numbers

Occasional in Michigan 35th most recorded of 75 mammals logged in Michigan

167 occurrence records
157 with iNaturalist photos
Jun 11, 2026 Last seen in Michigan

Records from 2000–2026.

167 total records count every Michigan occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 158; the monthly chart covers the 158 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Eastern Mole in Michigan

Most sightings fall in May to July.

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

Monthly Michigan records (table)
MonthRecords
January5
February1
March5
April15
May25
June31
July26
August15
September13
October9
November8
December5

Monthly eastern mole occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Michigan, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in Michigan, with recorded sightings peaking in May–July.

Occurrence map

Where Eastern Mole has been recorded in Michigan

158 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

158 Michigan records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Kellogg Biological Station and Experimental forest 4
Fort Custer Recreation Area 3
Holly Recreation Area 2
Manistee National Forest 1
Rose Lake State Wildlife Area 1
Cooley Bridge Roadside Park 1
Roscommon State Forest Area 1
Deford State Game Area 1

Protected places with the most eastern 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 Michigan

CountyRecords
Kent County 19
Washtenaw County 19
Oakland County 14
Kalamazoo County 9
Ingham County 9
Livingston County 7
Macomb County 6
Monroe County 6
Clinton County 5
Allegan County 5
Berrien County 5
Barry County 4
30 other counties 59

The complete county distribution, spread across 42 Michigan counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Eastern mole records in Michigan cluster in the southern Lower Peninsula’s farmland and turf, with Kellogg Biological Station and Fort Custer Recreation Area among the named sites. As a fossorial species that spends nearly its whole life underground, its record map is really a map of who noticed a molehill, not where the mole traveled.

Reports rise from April through July, when spring digging pushes up fresh mounds that are easy to spot on lawns and fields. With 157 of its 167 records coming from iNaturalist, most documentation is photographs of moles people happened to find rather than museum specimens or trapping data; NatureServe ranks the species S5, Secure, statewide.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Eastern Mole (Scalopus aquaticus)
Full species profile Eastern Mole Scalopus aquaticus Size 14.8 cm5.8 in Weight 75 g2.6 oz Lifespan Up to 6.2 yr View the full profile

More mammals in Michigan 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"