Unlike most mice, the northern grasshopper mouse hunts. It kills insects, scorpions, and even other mice, and it’s known for standing up on its hind legs to let out a thin, high-pitched call, almost a howl, to mark its territory. That predatory, nocturnal habit keeps it out of camera range, and Montana’s 82 records reflect that: all from GBIF data, none from iNaturalist.
Reports spike hard in July, hitting 34 records, with a second smaller rise to 22 in September and almost nothing outside the warm months. That pattern most likely traces back to when trapping surveys were run rather than a real change in the mouse’s own activity. Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge, the nearby prairie wildlife management areas, and the Missouri River corridor all offer the open grassland and cropland edges this species hunts across. NatureServe lists it as S5, secure, in Montana.
Full species profile
