North Dakota mammals

Plains Pocket Gopher in North Dakota

Geomys bursarius

Native to North Dakota SNR Unranked in North Dakota

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

IUCN Red List status

LC – Least Concern

Widespread and abundant; not at risk.

Photo: Sam Kieschnick · CC BYPlains pocket gopher emerging from a burrow in reddish soilPhoto: Unknown author · Public domainLive plains pocket gopher in side profile, showing its stout body, tiny ears, and large curved digging clawsPhoto: Evan H · CC BY 4.0Live plains pocket gopher crouched low in green grass, its small ear, blunt snout, and stout forepaws visible

Plains Pocket Gopher in North Dakota, by the numbers

Rare in North Dakota 62nd most recorded of 92 mammals logged in North Dakota

24 occurrence records

6 with iNaturalist photos

Sep 16, 2025 Last seen in North Dakota

Records from 2000–2026.

24 total records count every North Dakota occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the monthly chart covers the 23 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Plains Pocket Gopher in North Dakota

Most sightings fall in May.

23 North Dakota 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 North Dakota records (table)

Month	Records
January	1
February	0
March	0
April	0
May	8
June	2
July	3
August	2
September	3
October	2
November	2
December	0

Monthly plains pocket gopher occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in North Dakota, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in North Dakota, with recorded sightings peaking in May.

Occurrence map

Where Plains Pocket Gopher has been recorded in North Dakota

24 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

24 North Dakota records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monument	iNaturalist records
Turtle River State Park	2

Protected places with the most plains pocket gopher 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 North Dakota

County	Records
Grand Forks County	7
Walsh County	6
Richland County	5
Cass County	2
Ransom County	2
Renville County	2

The complete county distribution, spread across 6 North Dakota counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Plains pocket gophers spend nearly their entire lives underground, so North Dakota’s record for the species leans on GBIF specimen data (22 records) over iNaturalist (6), since actually seeing a gopher above ground is uncommon even in areas where they’re well established. No NatureServe rank appears on file, SNR unranked.

May alone accounts for 8 of the year’s monthly-tallied records, a third of the total, likely tracking spring soil-moisture conditions that push gophers closer to the surface and make their mound-building more visible after snowmelt.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Full species profile Plains Pocket Gopher Geomys bursarius Size 25–35 cm9.8–13.8 in Weight 187 g6.6 oz Lifespan Up to 12 yr View the full profile

More mammals in North Dakota 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"