Maine mammals

Masked Shrew in Maine

Sorex cinereus

Native to Maine S5 Secure in Maine

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

Masked Shrew in Maine, by the numbers

Common in Maine 29th most recorded of 85 mammals logged in Maine

324 occurrence records
69 with iNaturalist photos
Oct 15, 2025 Last seen in Maine

Records from 2000–2026.

324 total records count every Maine occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300; the monthly chart covers the 321 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Masked Shrew in Maine

Most sightings fall in July to September.

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

Monthly Maine records (table)
MonthRecords
January3
February0
March6
April13
May15
June45
July59
August77
September71
October9
November9
December14

Monthly masked shrew occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Maine, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

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

Occurrence map

Where Masked Shrew has been recorded in Maine

300 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

300 Maine records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Acadia National Park 6
Baxter State Park 6
Allagash Wilderness Waterway State Park 2
Green Point Wildlife Management Area 1
Nahmakanta Unit Ecological Reserve 1

Protected places with the most masked shrew 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 Maine

CountyRecords
Piscataquis County 66
Cumberland County 56
Oxford County 41
Hancock County 32
Penobscot County 26
Aroostook County 22
Washington County 19
Somerset County 18
Knox County 12
Waldo County 7
Lincoln County 6
York County 6
4 other counties 13

The complete county distribution, spread across 16 Maine counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Cinereus shrews live beneath the leaf litter, moss, and woody debris of Maine forests from the coast to the North Woods. Their minute size and near-constant search for invertebrate prey keep them mostly hidden; a quick rustle beside a damp trail is a more likely encounter than a clear view.

They are active throughout the year, using spaces under snow as winter hunting cover. Maine records are concentrated in late summer, especially August and September, and are dominated by GBIF data, a sign that specimen and survey work, not casual sightings, drives the apparent seasonal pattern.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

More mammals in Maine 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"