Nebraska mammals

Least Chipmunk in Nebraska

Neotamias minimus

Native to Nebraska S1 Critically Imperiled in Nebraska

Not listed as nonindigenous in Nebraska by USGS NAS; native to its Nebraska 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 Nebraska, by the numbers

Rare in Nebraska 71st most recorded of 95 mammals logged in Nebraska

12 occurrence records

Records from 2000–2026.

When to look for the Least Chipmunk in Nebraska

Most sightings fall in July to August.

12 Nebraska occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence. Based on a small number of dated records; the seasonal pattern may not be representative.

Monthly Nebraska records (table)

Month	Records
January	0
February	0
March	1
April	1
May	0
June	1
July	3
August	2
September	1
October	2
November	1
December	0

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

Seasonality

Year-round in Nebraska, with recorded sightings peaking in July–August, with a smaller rise in October.

Occurrence map

Where Least Chipmunk has been recorded in Nebraska

12 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

12 Nebraska records mapped

Where it's recorded in Nebraska

County	Records
Sioux County	10
Buffalo County	2

The complete county distribution, spread across 2 Nebraska counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Least chipmunks carry NatureServe’s S1 rank in Nebraska, critically imperiled, despite the species’ secure G5 global rank, a stark state-level status for a chipmunk that’s genuinely marginal here at the southeastern edge of its range. Every one of the state’s 12 records comes through GBIF with no iNaturalist sightings at all, meaning specimen or trapping data, not casual photographs, accounts for everything documented about this species in Nebraska.

Records scatter thin across eight months with a small July peak (3 sightings), too sparse a dataset to draw any real seasonal conclusion, consistent with a species this critically imperiled turning up only occasionally in the state’s wildlife record.

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 Nebraska 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