Washington mammals

Long-tailed Vole in Washington

Microtus longicaudus

Native to Washington S5 Secure in Washington

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

Long-tailed vole peering from rocksLong-tailed vole under a fallen logLong-tailed vole moving through dry grass, tail trailing behind
Photo: CK Kelly · CC BY 4.0Long-tailed vole peering from rocksPhoto: Eric Knight · CC BY 4.0Long-tailed vole using log cover.Photo: Rocky Mountain National Park · CC BY-SA 4.0Long-tailed vole moving through dry grass, tail trailing behind

Long-tailed Vole in Washington, by the numbers

Occasional in Washington 94th most recorded of 145 mammals logged in Washington

956 occurrence records
4 with iNaturalist photos
Nov 17, 2024 Last seen in Washington

Records from 2000–2026.

956 total records count every Washington occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300; the monthly chart covers the 950 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Long-tailed Vole in Washington

Most sightings fall in June to August.

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

Monthly Washington records (table)
MonthRecords
January22
February6
March30
April29
May78
June208
July169
August154
September71
October114
November44
December25

Monthly long-tailed vole occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Washington, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in Washington, with recorded sightings peaking in June–August.

Occurrence map

Where Long-tailed Vole has been recorded in Washington

300 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

300 Washington records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Lake Chelan National Recreation Area 41
Washington State Department of Natural Resources (WADNR) State Resource Management Area 35
Daniel J. Evans Wilderness Area 26
Mount Rainier National Park 16
Wenas Wildlife Area Complex 14
Glacier Peak Wilderness 13
Olympic National Park 10
North Cascades National Park 9

Protected places with the most long-tailed vole 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 Washington

CountyRecords
Pend Oreille County 171
Whitman County 143
Chelan County 82
Stevens County 67
Kittitas County 62
Pierce County 47
Yakima County 47
Clallam County 34
Walla Walla County 33
King County 25
Whatcom County 21
Ferry County 20
20 other counties 204

The complete county distribution, spread across 32 Washington counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Across the Washington overlay, long tailed vole is represented by 956 records. iNaturalist accounts for 4 records and GBIF for 955; those figures describe reporting systems, not animals on the ground. Measured strictly by submitted records, it sits 84 in the 126-species state list.

Seasonally, June leads with 208 records, while February has 6. Both Olympic National Park and Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge appear as search areas, although the data do not rank those sites. Together these are submitted-record patterns, not evidence of Washington population size.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Long-tailed vole peering from rocks
Full species profile Long-tailed Vole Microtus longicaudus Size 13.5 cm5.3 in Weight 50 g1.8 oz Lifespan Up to 1.2 yr View the full profile

More mammals in Washington 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"