Oklahoma mammals

Prairie Vole in Oklahoma

Microtus ochrogaster

Native to Oklahoma SNR Unranked in Oklahoma

Not listed as nonindigenous in Oklahoma by USGS NAS; native to its Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma, by the numbers

Occasional in Oklahoma 59th most recorded of 120 mammals logged in Oklahoma

325 occurrence records
4 with iNaturalist photos
Mar 14, 2022 Last seen in Oklahoma

Records from 2000–2026.

325 total records count every Oklahoma occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300; the monthly chart covers the 321 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Prairie Vole in Oklahoma

Most sightings fall in May.

321 Oklahoma occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence.

Monthly Oklahoma records (table)
MonthRecords
January7
February8
March7
April4
May152
June52
July2
August67
September12
October10
November0
December0

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

Seasonality

Year-round in Oklahoma, with recorded sightings peaking in May.

Occurrence map

Where Prairie Vole has been recorded in Oklahoma

300 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

300 Oklahoma records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
CLO Lands 25

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 Oklahoma

CountyRecords
Osage County 211
Washita County 46
Comanche County 30
Woods County 13
Noble County 10
Okmulgee County 2
Oklahoma County 2
Harper County 1
Stephens County 1
Texas County 1
Craig County 1
Rogers County 1
6 other counties 6

The complete county distribution, spread across 18 Oklahoma counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Prairie voles show an extreme source imbalance in Oklahoma’s record: 324 GBIF specimens against just 4 from iNaturalist, more than 80 to 1, meaning trapping surveys, not casual sightings, built essentially the entire dataset for this grassland vole. No NatureServe rank appears on file, SNR unranked.

August alone accounts for 19 of the year’s monthly-tallied records, nearly 40 percent of the total, with September close behind at 12; that concentrated late-summer pattern almost certainly reflects the timing of major trapping surveys rather than any real seasonal explosion in vole activity, since prairie voles breed and stay active under grass 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 Oklahoma 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"