North Dakota mammals

Least Chipmunk in North Dakota

Neotamias minimus

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

LC – Least Concern

Widespread and abundant; not at risk.

Photo: John D Reynolds · CC BY 4.0Least Chipmunk in natural habitatPhoto: Daughter Dad · CC BY 4.0Least chipmunk moving through low grassPhoto: Syd Cannings · CC BY 4.0Least chipmunk foraging in green groundcoverPhoto: Daughter Dad · CC BY 4.0Least chipmunk among dry leavesPhoto: Pete Schwartz · CC BY 4.0Least chipmunk at the edge of open cover

Least Chipmunk (Neotamias minimus) — Photo: John D Reynolds · CC BY 4.0Least Chipmunk in natural habitatPhoto: Daughter Dad · CC BY 4.0Least chipmunk moving through low grassPhoto: Syd Cannings · CC BY 4.0Least chipmunk foraging in green groundcoverPhoto: Daughter Dad · CC BY 4.0Least chipmunk among dry leavesPhoto: Pete Schwartz · CC BY 4.0Least chipmunk at the edge of open cover

Least Chipmunk in North Dakota, by the numbers

Occasional in North Dakota 39th most recorded of 92 mammals logged in North Dakota

55 occurrence records

Records from 2000–2026.

When to look for the Least Chipmunk in North Dakota

Most sightings fall in July.

55 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)

Month	Records
January	0
February	0
March	0
April	0
May	5
June	13
July	23
August	8
September	4
October	2
November	0
December	0

Monthly least chipmunk occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in North Dakota, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in North Dakota, with recorded sightings peaking in July.

Occurrence map

Where Least Chipmunk has been recorded in North Dakota

55 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

55 North Dakota records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monument	iNaturalist records
Theodore Roosevelt National Park	15
Nd State Lands - Surface Ownership	1

Protected places with the most least chipmunk 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

County	Records
Billings County	19
McKenzie County	11
Stark County	11
Slope County	4
Golden Valley County	4
Dunn County	4
Morton County	2

The complete county distribution, spread across 7 North Dakota counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Every one of North Dakota’s 55 least chipmunk records comes through GBIF rather than a photograph, meaning trapping and specimen surveys, not casual sightings, document everything known about this small chipmunk in the state. No NatureServe rank appears on file, SNR unranked, despite the species being widespread across North Dakota’s prairie refuges.

July alone accounts for 23 of the year’s monthly-tallied sightings, more than 40 percent of the total, tracking peak summer activity for this hibernating species; the record goes completely silent from October through April.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist.

Full species profile Least Chipmunk Neotamias minimus Size 10–11 cm3.9–4.3 in Weight 41–47 g1.4–1.7 oz Lifespan Up to 10 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"