Piute Ground Squirrel in California

Urocitellus mollis

Native to California S3 Vulnerable in California

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

IUCN Red List status

LC – Least Concern

Widespread and abundant; not at risk.

Photo: iNaturalist user: daver · CC BY-SA 4.0Piute ground squirrel in profile on a dirt mound in sparse desert scrubPhoto: David Robichaud · CC BY-SA 4.0Piute Ground Squirrel (Urocitellus mollis)Photo: Joseph Morlan · CC BY-SA 4.0Piute Ground Squirrel (Urocitellus mollis)

Piute Ground Squirrel in California, by the numbers

Rare in California 206th most recorded of 233 mammals logged in California

3 occurrence records

2 with iNaturalist photos

Records from 2000–2026.

When to look for the Piute Ground Squirrel in California

Most sightings fall in April to June.

3 California occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence. Based on a small number of dated records; the seasonal pattern may not be representative.

Monthly California records (table)

Month	Records
January	0
February	0
March	0
April	1
May	1
June	1
July	0
August	0
September	0
October	0
November	0
December	0

Monthly piute ground squirrel occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in California, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Sparse observation record in California; presence confirmed but timing of activity not well documented.

Occurrence map

Where Piute Ground Squirrel has been recorded in California

3 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

3 California records mapped

Where it's recorded in California

County	Records
Mono County	3

The complete county distribution, spread across 1 California counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

California has only 3 Piute ground squirrel records from 2000 to 2026, all from Mono County on the Great Basin side of the Sierra. All three are in GBIF, and two are also research-grade iNaturalist observations.

They came one each in April, May and June, far too few to show a season. Utah, Idaho and Nevada hold most of the species’ US records, so California sits at the western fringe of its range.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Full species profile Piute Ground Squirrel Urocitellus mollis Size 24.5–29.4 cm9.6–11.6 in Weight 82–205 g2.9–7.2 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