Florida mammals

Southeastern Pocket Gopher in Florida

Geomys pinetis

Native to Florida S5 Secure in Florida

Not listed as nonindigenous in Florida by USGS NAS; native to its Florida 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: Southeastern pocket gopher half-emerged at its sandy burrow entrance, orange incisors and digging foreclaws visible. 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: Southeastern pocket gopher half-emerged from a sandy burrow. 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: Southeastern pocket gopher plugging its burrow with sand. 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 accuracySoutheastern pocket gopher half-emerged at its sandy burrow entrance, orange incisors and digging foreclaws visibleAI-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 accuracySoutheastern pocket gopher half-emerged from a sandy burrowAI-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 accuracySoutheastern pocket gopher plugging its burrow with sand

Southeastern Pocket Gopher in Florida, by the numbers

Common in Florida 28th most recorded of 116 mammals logged in Florida

2,300 occurrence records
363 with iNaturalist photos
Jun 17, 2026 Last seen in Florida

2,300 total records count every Florida occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300; the monthly chart covers the 1,900 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Southeastern Pocket Gopher in Florida

Most sightings fall in November to April.

1,900 Florida occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence.

Monthly Florida records (table)
MonthRecords
January188
February186
March193
April212
May124
June96
July133
August214
September81
October95
November163
December215

Monthly southeastern pocket gopher occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Florida.

Seasonality

Year-round in Florida, with recorded sightings peaking in November–April, with a smaller rise in July–August.

Occurrence map

Where Southeastern Pocket Gopher has been recorded in Florida

300 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

300 Florida records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Ordway-Swisher Biological Station 31
Wekiwa Springs State Park 25
Lower Wekiva River Preserve State Park 17
Ichetucknee Springs State Park 16
Blackwater River State Forest 15
Watermelon Pond Mitigation Park Wildlife and Environmental Area 12
Withlacoochee State Forest 11
Mike Roess Gold Head Branch State Park 7

Protected places with the most southeastern 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 Florida

CountyRecords
Hillsborough County 407
Alachua County 395
Marion County 202
Levy County 122
Pinellas County 105
Lake County 99
Putnam County 95
Polk County 73
Indian River County 73
Sumter County 71
Duval County 45
Orange County 44
42 other counties 569

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

Ocala National Forest is the lone named site in Florida’s southeastern pocket gopher records, with 3 of the state’s 2,213 total sightings logged there. Every one of those records comes through GBIF rather than iNaturalist, which points to specimen and survey data rather than recent citizen observation. The species is native to Florida and carries a Secure, S5, state rank.

Monthly reports don’t settle on one sharp peak. December counts run highest, with August and April close behind, while June and September drop off noticeably. That spread suggests records turn up across most of the year rather than clustering around a single season.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

AI-generated image: Southeastern pocket gopher half-emerged at its sandy burrow entrance, orange incisors and digging foreclaws visible. 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 Southeastern Pocket Gopher Geomys pinetis Size 24 cm9.4 in Weight 196 g6.9 oz View the full profile

More mammals in Florida in the atlas

Data & sources

The data and visualizations on this page draw on these open sources: