Minnesota mammals

Southern Bog Lemming in Minnesota

Synaptomys cooperi

Native to Minnesota SNR Unranked in Minnesota

Not listed as nonindigenous in Minnesota by USGS NAS; native to its Minnesota 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: Southern bog lemming alert among wet sedges and sphagnum at a bog edge. 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: Southern bog lemming moving through bog sedges. 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: Southern bog lemming sitting on sphagnum moss. 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 accuracySouthern bog lemming alert among wet sedges and sphagnum at a bog edgeAI-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 accuracySouthern bog lemming moving through bog sedgesAI-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 accuracySouthern bog lemming sitting on sphagnum moss

Southern Bog Lemming in Minnesota, by the numbers

Occasional in Minnesota 46th most recorded of 88 mammals logged in Minnesota

89 occurrence records
2 with iNaturalist photos
Jun 18, 2019 Last seen in Minnesota

Records from 2000–2026.

When to look for the Southern Bog Lemming in Minnesota

Most sightings fall in June to August.

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

Monthly Minnesota records (table)
MonthRecords
January0
February0
March4
April1
May3
June17
July26
August26
September6
October4
November2
December0

Monthly southern bog lemming occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Minnesota, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in Minnesota, with recorded sightings peaking in June–August.

Occurrence map

Where Southern Bog Lemming has been recorded in Minnesota

89 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

89 Minnesota records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Voyageurs National Park 9
Two Inlets State Forest 5
Superior National Forest 5
Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness 4
Pine Island State Forest 1

Protected places with the most southern bog lemming 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 Minnesota

CountyRecords
Cook County 20
St. Louis County 15
Sherburne County 13
Clearwater County 10
Lake County 7
Cass County 6
Becker County 5
Itasca County 4
Wadena County 2
Koochiching County 2
Beltrami County 2
Hubbard County 1
2 other counties 2

The complete county distribution, spread across 14 Minnesota counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Southern bog lemming records in Minnesota are thin and recent activity is stale, with the most recent confirmed sighting dating back to June 2019. Superior National Forest, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, and Voyageurs National Park are the named reference sites for this fossorial rodent, which lives in grass-roofed surface runways and rarely surfaces where it can be photographed.

The handful of records that exist concentrate in July and August, tracking the growing season when meadow and sedge cover is thickest and trapping effort typically runs. NatureServe has not yet assigned the species a Minnesota rank, a data gap rather than a conservation flag for an animal that’s simply hard to document.

AI-generated image: Southern bog lemming alert among wet sedges and sphagnum at a bog edge. 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 Southern Bog Lemming Synaptomys cooperi Size 11.8 cm4.6 in Weight 35 g1.2 oz Lifespan Up to 2.5 yr View the full profile

More mammals in Minnesota 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"