California mammals

Montane Vole in California

Microtus montanus

Native to California SNR Unranked in California

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

Montane vole peering out from lichen-covered alpine rocksMontane vole foraging on snow with its tail and whiskers visibleMontane vole partly hidden in dry meadow grassMontane vole on snow showing its short, sparsely furred tail
Photo: Cole Wolf · CC BY 4.0Montane vole peering out from lichen-covered alpine rocksPhoto: ecovore · CC BY 4.0A montane vole pauses on late-season snow in the Sierra Nevada foothills.Photo: Brodie Cass Talbott · CC BY 4.0A montane vole works through dry meadow grass in eastern Oregon.Photo: ecovore · CC BY 4.0The same Sierra Nevada vole, tail and whiskers visible against the snow.

Montane Vole in California, by the numbers

Occasional in California 83rd most recorded of 241 mammals logged in California

1,526 occurrence records
14 with iNaturalist photos

Records from 2000–2026.

1,526 total records count every California occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300; the monthly chart covers the 1,519 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Montane Vole in California

Most sightings fall in July to August.

1,519 California occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence.

Monthly California records (table)
MonthRecords
January8
February5
March10
April57
May150
June203
July422
August283
September224
October120
November11
December26

Monthly montane vole occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in California, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in California, with recorded sightings peaking in July–August.

Occurrence map

Where Montane Vole has been recorded in California

300 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

300 California records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Yosemite National Park 238
Inyo National Forest 76
Golden Trout Wilderness 45
John Muir Wilderness 31
Sequoia National Park 25
Lassen Volcanic National Park 18
Tahoe National Forest 13
Deep Springs Lake 12

Protected places with the most montane 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 California

CountyRecords
Mono County 326
Mariposa County 220
Nevada County 144
Tulare County 137
Fresno County 128
Lassen County 90
Siskiyou County 84
Tuolumne County 80
Inyo County 68
Modoc County 62
Plumas County 34
Placer County 31
9 other counties 122

The complete county distribution, spread across 21 California counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Montane Vole records follow California’s cooler uplands and forests more closely than the hot Central Valley floor. The Sierra Nevada, Klamath Mountains, and Coast Ranges aren’t interchangeable: snow, summer moisture, tree cover, and elevation shape where reports appear.

Road access and popular trails make some mountain belts much better documented than remote forest. A dense group of reports can identify a well-watched area, but it doesn’t prove that the species is more numerous there.

The California record set combines 14 research-grade community observations with 1,525 museum and survey records. Monthly patterns can also reflect weather and observer activity, so they shouldn’t be treated as a direct count of animals.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Montane vole peering out from lichen-covered alpine rocks
Full species profile Montane Vole Microtus montanus Size 14–22 cm5.5–8.7 in Weight 35 g1.2 oz View the full profile

More mammals in California 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"