Nebraska mammals

Prairie Vole in Nebraska

Microtus ochrogaster

Native to Nebraska S5 Secure 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.

AI-generated image: Prairie Vole alert in a grassy meadow, stocky grizzled brown-gray body and short tail. No public-domain photograph of this species exists. This image was generated with AI from verified reference material and reviewed by our editorial team for accuracyAI-generated image: Prairie vole foraging between grass stems. No public-domain photograph of this species exists. This image was generated with AI from verified reference material and reviewed by our editorial team for accuracyAI-generated image: Prairie vole at the entrance of a grass runway. No public-domain photograph of this species exists. This image was generated with AI from verified reference material and reviewed by our editorial team for accuracy
AI-generated image No public-domain photograph of this species exists. This image was generated with AI from verified reference material and reviewed by our editorial team for accuracyPrairie Vole alert in a grassy meadow, stocky grizzled brown-gray body and short tailAI-generated image No public-domain photograph of this species exists. This image was generated with AI from verified reference material and reviewed by our editorial team for accuracyPrairie vole foraging between grass stemsAI-generated image No public-domain photograph of this species exists. This image was generated with AI from verified reference material and reviewed by our editorial team for accuracyPrairie vole at the entrance of a grass runway

Prairie Vole in Nebraska, by the numbers

Occasional in Nebraska 48th most recorded of 95 mammals logged in Nebraska

933 occurrence records
12 with iNaturalist photos
May 8, 2026 Last seen in Nebraska

Records from 2000–2026.

933 total records count every Nebraska occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300; the monthly chart covers the 902 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Prairie Vole in Nebraska

Most sightings fall in June.

902 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
January8
February0
March22
April120
May103
June216
July85
August101
September39
October32
November136
December40

Monthly prairie vole occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Nebraska, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in Nebraska, with recorded sightings peaking in June, with a smaller rise in November.

Occurrence map

Where Prairie Vole has been recorded in Nebraska

300 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

300 Nebraska records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge_Wilderness Area 28
Scotts Bluff National Monument 3
Agate Fossil Beds National Monument 3
Samuel R. Mckelvie National Forest 2
Fort Robinson State Park 1

Protected places with the most prairie vole 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 Nebraska

CountyRecords
Cherry County 256
Dundy County 116
Scotts Bluff County 81
Richardson County 41
Garden County 32
Washington County 26
Cheyenne County 23
Lincoln County 23
Nemaha County 20
Cass County 19
Lancaster County 16
Gage County 15
42 other counties 265

The complete county distribution, spread across 54 Nebraska counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Prairie voles rack up 933 records in Nebraska, among the largest counts in this rank tier, yet only 12 come from iNaturalist, an overwhelming GBIF trapping-survey signature rather than casual sightings of a small grassland rodent that’s genuinely common across the state but rarely seen. NatureServe rates the state population S5, secure.

June alone accounts for 216 of the year’s monthly-tallied records, close to a quarter of the total, with a secondary spike in November (136), a two-peak pattern that likely reflects survey timing more than the vole’s own activity, since prairie voles stay active under grass and snow cover year-round.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

AI-generated image: Prairie Vole alert in a grassy meadow, stocky grizzled brown-gray body and short tail. No public-domain photograph of this species exists. This image was generated with AI from verified reference material and reviewed by our editorial team for accuracy
Full species profile Prairie Vole Microtus ochrogaster Size 12.4 cm4.9 in Weight 47 g1.7 oz Lifespan Up to 5.3 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
  • USGS Protected Areas Databasepublic domainthe named parks, forests, and refuges behind "notable places to look"