North Dakota mammals

Franklin's Ground Squirrel in North Dakota

Poliocitellus franklinii

Native to North Dakota SNR Unranked in North Dakota

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

Franklin's Ground Squirrel in NebraskaFranklin's Ground SquirrelFlickr - Furryscaly - Are You Still ThereFlickr - Furryscaly - Franklin's Ground SquirrelFranklin's Ground Squirrel (Poliocitellus franklinii)
Photo: JonRichfield · CC BY-SA 3.0Franklin's Ground Squirrel in NebraskaPhoto: Ceasol · CC BY-SA 3.0Franklin's Ground SquirrelPhoto: Matt Reinbold from Bismarck, ND, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0Flickr - Furryscaly - Are You Still TherePhoto: Matt Reinbold from Bismarck, ND, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0Flickr - Furryscaly - Franklin's Ground SquirrelPhoto: Dominique Menard · CC BY 4.0Franklin's Ground Squirrel (Poliocitellus franklinii)

Franklin's Ground Squirrel in North Dakota, by the numbers

Occasional in North Dakota 36th most recorded of 92 mammals logged in North Dakota

112 occurrence records
25 with iNaturalist photos
Jun 22, 2026 Last seen in North Dakota

Records from 2000–2026.

112 total records count every North Dakota occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the monthly chart covers the 108 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Franklin's Ground Squirrel in North Dakota

Most sightings fall in May to June.

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

Monthly North Dakota records (table)
MonthRecords
January0
February0
March0
April0
May44
June29
July15
August18
September2
October0
November0
December0

Monthly franklin's ground squirrel occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in North Dakota, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in North Dakota, with recorded sightings peaking in May–June.

Occurrence map

Where Franklin's Ground Squirrel has been recorded in North Dakota

112 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

112 North Dakota records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Nd State Lands - Surface Ownership 3
Lake Sakakawea 1
Chase Lake National Wildlife Refuge_Wilderness Area 1
Riverdale 1
Oahe Wildlife Management Area 1
Lake Sakakawea State Park 1

Protected places with the most franklin's 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 North Dakota

CountyRecords
Stutsman County 48
Grand Forks County 10
Ramsey County 8
Cass County 7
Ward County 6
Rolette County 6
Dickey County 5
Kidder County 4
McHenry County 3
McLean County 3
Walsh County 2
Benson County 2
8 other counties 8

The complete county distribution, spread across 20 North Dakota counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Franklin’s ground squirrels carry no NatureServe state rank in North Dakota, SNR unranked, and the record leans toward GBIF (104 records) over iNaturalist (25), suggesting trapping and survey data document this secretive, woodland-edge ground squirrel more consistently than casual sightings.

Records are almost entirely confined to a four-month window, May through August account for 106 of the 108 monthly-tallied sightings, essentially the whole record, a pattern that fits a species that spends roughly eight months of the year underground in one of the longest hibernation periods of any North American ground squirrel.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Franklin's Ground Squirrel in Nebraska
Full species profile Franklin's Ground Squirrel Poliocitellus franklinii Size 36–41 cm14.2–16.1 in Weight 370 g13.1 oz Lifespan Up to 7.2 yr View the full profile

More mammals in North Dakota 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"