Wyoming mammals

Least Chipmunk in Wyoming

Neotamias minimus

Native to Wyoming S5 Secure in Wyoming

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

Least Chipmunk in Wyoming, by the numbers

Common in Wyoming 18th most recorded of 126 mammals logged in Wyoming

891 occurrence records
613 with iNaturalist photos

Records from 2000–2026.

891 total records count every Wyoming occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300; the monthly chart covers the 835 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Least Chipmunk in Wyoming

Most sightings fall in July to September.

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

Monthly Wyoming records (table)
MonthRecords
January0
February0
March2
April5
May52
June111
July195
August237
September194
October37
November2
December0

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

Seasonality

Year-round in Wyoming, with recorded sightings peaking in July–September.

Occurrence map

Where Least Chipmunk has been recorded in Wyoming

300 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

300 Wyoming records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Yellowstone National Park 446
Grand Teton National Park 81
Devils Tower National Monument 38
Cloud Peak Wilderness 6
Fossil Butte National Monument 3
John D. Rockefeller, Jr., Memorial Parkway 3
Chain Lakes Wildlife Habitat Management Area 2
Teton Wilderness 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 Wyoming

CountyRecords
Park County 400
Teton County 197
Albany County 71
Crook County 50
Sweetwater County 25
Big Horn County 19
Natrona County 12
Fremont County 10
Laramie County 10
Lincoln County 8
Carbon County 8
Johnson County 7
8 other counties 74

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

Least chipmunks use shrublands, open woodland, rocky edges, and montane meadows across much of Wyoming. They can be found in sagebrush basins as well as Yellowstone and Grand Teton, and are often seen darting through low cover rather than climbing heavily forested slopes. Their small size and narrow dark-and-light facial stripes help distinguish them from local ground squirrels.

They spend winter underground, so observations are concentrated from late spring into early autumn and peak from June through September. Identification can be difficult where other chipmunks overlap; a clear photograph of the face, flanks, and tail adds value to a report. Observation totals reflect effort, not a population census.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

More mammals in Wyoming 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"