Prairie voles carry a NatureServe S3 vulnerable rank in Iowa that sits in tension with a GBIF record of 203 specimens, more than 40 times the 5 iNaturalist sightings, a split that reflects how thoroughly trapping surveys have documented this grassland vole even as its tallgrass prairie habitat has shrunk statewide.
The handful of casually observed records cluster loosely in late winter and spring, February through May account for 4 of the 5 monthly-tallied sightings, though with GBIF dominating the total record so heavily, that pattern likely says more about survey timing than about the vole’s own seasonal activity, since prairie voles remain active under snow and vegetation cover year-round.
Full species profile
