Nebraska mammals

Northern pocket gopher in Nebraska

Thomomys talpoides

Native to Nebraska SNR Unranked in Nebraska

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

Northern pocket gopher in low vegetationNorthern pocket gopher facing forward among leavesNorthern pocket gopher partly hidden in ground coverNorthern pocket gopher feeding beside green plantsNorthern pocket gopher climbing over a fresh soil mound
Photo: Henggang Cui · CC0Northern pocket gopher in low vegetationPhoto: Henggang Cui · CC0Northern pocket gopher facing forward among leavesPhoto: Henggang Cui · CC0Northern pocket gopher partly hidden in ground coverPhoto: Alina Martin · CC BY 4.0Northern pocket gopher feeding beside green plantsPhoto: Lauren McLaurin · CC BY 4.0Northern pocket gopher climbing over a fresh soil mound

Northern pocket gopher in Nebraska, by the numbers

Occasional in Nebraska 45th most recorded of 95 mammals logged in Nebraska

33 occurrence records

Records from 2000–2026.

When to look for the Northern pocket gopher in Nebraska

Most sightings fall in August.

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

Monthly Nebraska records (table)
MonthRecords
January0
February0
March0
April1
May0
June4
July1
August21
September5
October0
November1
December0

Monthly northern pocket gopher occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Nebraska, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in Nebraska, with recorded sightings peaking in August.

Occurrence map

Where Northern pocket gopher has been recorded in Nebraska

33 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

33 Nebraska records mapped

Where it's recorded in Nebraska

CountyRecords
Dawes County 22
Kimball County 5
Sioux County 3
Banner County 2
Cheyenne County 1

The complete county distribution, spread across 5 Nebraska counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Nebraska’s overlay has 33 records, all from GBIF, and 21 of them fall in August; June has four and September five. Valentine and Crescent Lake national wildlife refuges and the Platte River are the listed places to search, while the state conservation rank remains SNR (Unranked). That concentrated record history does not measure abundance or establish a complete season or range.

Northern pocket gopher in low vegetation
Full species profile Northern pocket gopher Thomomys talpoides Size 22.9 cm9 in Weight 60–160 g2.1–5.6 oz Lifespan Up to 6 yr View the full profile

More mammals in Nebraska 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