California mammals

Panamint Chipmunk in California

Neotamias panamintinus

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.

Neotamias panamintinus IPanamint Chipmunk (Neotamias panamintinus)Panamint Chipmunk (Neotamias panamintinus)
Photo: Chloe and Trevor Van Loon · CC BY 4.0Neotamias panamintinus IPhoto: Trevor Van Loon · CC BY 4.0Panamint Chipmunk (Neotamias panamintinus)Photo: Tom Field · CC BY 4.0Panamint Chipmunk (Neotamias panamintinus)

Panamint Chipmunk in California, by the numbers

Rare in California 169th most recorded of 241 mammals logged in California

47 occurrence records
38 with iNaturalist photos

Records from 2000–2026.

When to look for the Panamint Chipmunk in California

Most sightings fall in August.

47 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
January0
February1
March0
April3
May12
June2
July6
August20
September3
October0
November0
December0

Monthly panamint chipmunk occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in California, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in California, with recorded sightings peaking in August, with a smaller rise in May.

Occurrence map

Where Panamint Chipmunk has been recorded in California

47 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

47 California records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Mojave National Preserve 14
John Muir Wilderness 8
Death Valley National Park 7
Inyo National Forest 1

Protected places with the most panamint chipmunk 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
Inyo County 26
San Bernardino County 15
Mono County 6

The complete county distribution, spread across 3 California counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

California’s combined state files contain 38 Panamint Chipmunk records: 38 from iNaturalist and 0 from GBIF. It ranks 171th among 243 mammals in this California record comparison, placing it in the lower third. That’s a ranking of submitted records, not a head count of animals.

The monthly series reaches its high point in May and August, with 11 records in the busiest months. Records appear in 6 of 12 months, so the pattern shows when sightings were documented, not when the species must be present or absent.

California accounts for about 58% of the mapped GBIF records summarized on the national Panamint Chipmunk page. That’s a large share of the known record footprint, though differences in survey effort can strongly shape the percentage.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Neotamias panamintinus I
Full species profile Panamint Chipmunk Neotamias panamintinus Size 11–12 cm4.3–4.7 in Weight 74–105 g2.6–3.7 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"