Tennessee mammals

Golden Mouse in Tennessee

Ochrotomys nuttalli

Native to Tennessee S5 Secure in Tennessee

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

Golden Mouse in Tennessee, by the numbers

Occasional in Tennessee 34th most recorded of 86 mammals logged in Tennessee

352 occurrence records
10 with iNaturalist photos
Apr 24, 2026 Last seen in Tennessee

Records from 2000–2026.

352 total records count every Tennessee occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300; the monthly chart covers the 332 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Golden Mouse in Tennessee

Most sightings fall in November.

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

Monthly Tennessee records (table)
MonthRecords
January22
February23
March34
April25
May52
June44
July9
August7
September8
October21
November65
December22

Monthly golden mouse occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Tennessee, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in Tennessee, with recorded sightings peaking in November, with a smaller rise in May–June.

Occurrence map

Where Golden Mouse has been recorded in Tennessee

300 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

300 Tennessee records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Great Smoky Mountains National Park 56
Big Hill Pond 8
Oak Ridge Wildlife Management Area 7
Pickett 4
Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area 3
North Cherokee National Forest & Wildlife Management Area 2
Colditz Cove Designated State Natural Area 2
Appalachian National Scenic Trail 1

Protected places with the most golden mouse 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 Tennessee

CountyRecords
Shelby County 65
Sevier County 64
Gibson County 62
Monroe County 22
Fayette County 18
Hamilton County 13
Anderson County 8
McNairy County 8
Hardeman County 8
Knox County 8
Marion County 7
Campbell County 6
29 other counties 63

The complete county distribution, spread across 41 Tennessee counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Named places are thin in Tennessee’s golden mouse record: Cherokee National Forest is the only site with a repeated report, and it’s just one. Most of what’s documented here comes from broader survey work rather than clustered sightings, with 351 GBIF records against just 10 from iNaturalist, a gap that says more about who’s counting than about where the mouse actually lives.

November stands out sharply, with 33 recorded reports against single digits across most of the year. May and June also run high, echoing a late-spring push in survey activity. Winter and midsummer entries drop close to zero, likely reflecting when surveys happen more than the mouse’s own rhythm.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

More mammals in Tennessee 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"