North Dakota mammals

Southwestern Jumping Mouse in North Dakota

Zapus princeps

Native to North Dakota

Not listed as nonindigenous in North Dakota by USGS NAS; treated as native to its mapped North Dakota 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.

Live western jumping mouse crouched in leaf litter with its long tail curving behindAI-generated image: Southwestern jumping mouse crouched in streamside sedge. No additional license-safe 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: Southwestern jumping mouse on a wet willow bank. No additional license-safe photograph of this species exists. This image was generated with AI from verified reference material and reviewed by our editorial team for accuracy
Photo: U.S. Forest Service · Public domainLive western jumping mouse crouched in leaf litter with its long tail curving behindAI-generated image No additional license-safe photograph of this species exists. This image was generated with AI from verified reference material and reviewed by our editorial team for accuracySouthwestern jumping mouse crouched in streamside sedgeAI-generated image No additional license-safe photograph of this species exists. This image was generated with AI from verified reference material and reviewed by our editorial team for accuracySouthwestern jumping mouse on a wet willow bank

Southwestern Jumping Mouse in North Dakota, by the numbers

Common in North Dakota 12th most recorded of 92 mammals logged in North Dakota

254 occurrence records

Records from 2000–2026.

When to look for the Southwestern Jumping Mouse in North Dakota

Most sightings fall in May to August.

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

Monthly North Dakota records (table)
MonthRecords
January1
February0
March0
April0
May62
June72
July54
August56
September6
October3
November0
December0

Monthly southwestern jumping mouse occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in North Dakota, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in North Dakota, with recorded sightings peaking in May–August.

Occurrence map

Where Southwestern Jumping Mouse has been recorded in North Dakota

254 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

254 North Dakota records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Nd State Lands - Surface Ownership 9

Protected places with the most southwestern jumping mouse 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 North Dakota

CountyRecords
Stutsman County 73
Ward County 56
Grand Forks County 28
Barnes County 18
Cass County 16
Benson County 15
Ramsey County 10
Burleigh County 8
Sargent County 8
Morton County 7
Bottineau County 7
Pierce County 3
4 other counties 5

The complete county distribution, spread across 16 North Dakota counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Jumping mice are among North America’s most committed hibernators, and the pattern shows clearly in North Dakota’s own records. Every one of the 254 logged sightings falls between May and August, heaviest in June and July, then nothing again until spring. Zapus species can spend eight months or more asleep underground, so a report window that shuts hard after August lines up with real biology, not just a quiet season for fieldwork.

All 254 records come from GBIF, with no photographs on iNaturalist, which fits a mouse that’s active mostly at night and easy to overlook even when it’s out. J. Clark Salyer, Chase Lake, and Des Lacs national wildlife refuges anchor the where-to-see list, three wetland-and-grassland complexes in the state’s prairie pothole country that suit its need for tall, damp cover near water.

No NatureServe rank has been published for this species in North Dakota, though it’s treated as native to its mapped range in the state, based on USGS survey data.

Live western jumping mouse crouched in leaf litter with its long tail curving behind
Full species profile Southwestern Jumping Mouse Zapus princeps Size 22–25 cm8.7–9.8 in Weight 28 g1 oz Lifespan Up to 6 yr View the full profile

More mammals in North Dakota 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
  • 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"