Deer mice are one of the most widespread native rodents in North America, and Indiana’s records trace the open prairie remnants and fallow fields around Kankakee Sands, ground this mouse forages across at night while staying hidden from hawks and owls by day. Most of the 67 records come from GBIF specimen data rather than photographs, just 16 from iNaturalist, typical for a small nocturnal mouse rarely caught on camera.
Records climb sharply into a December peak, the year’s clear high point alongside a smaller October rise, an unusual winter-leaning pattern that more likely reflects trapping-survey timing than any true seasonal surge, since deer mice stay active through Indiana’s cold months rather than hibernating. NatureServe rates the species secure (S5) statewide.
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