Thirteen-lined ground squirrel in Illinois

Ictidomys tridecemlineatus

Native to Illinois S5 Secure in Illinois

Not listed as nonindigenous in Illinois by USGS NAS; native to its Illinois range.

IUCN Red List status

LC – Least Concern

Widespread and abundant; not at risk.

Photo: sofi v · CC-BYThirteen-lined ground squirrel crouched beside short grassPhoto: carterdorscht · CC0Thirteen-lined ground squirrel standing upright in prairie grassPhoto: Lauren McLaurin · CC-BYThirteen-lined ground squirrel rising from green lawn grassPhoto: Millie Basden · CC-BYThirteen-lined ground squirrel peering from a burrow entrancePhoto: Sean Frey · CC-BYThirteen-lined ground squirrel close portrait in dry grass

Photo: sofi v · CC-BYThirteen-lined ground squirrel crouched beside short grassPhoto: carterdorscht · CC0Thirteen-lined ground squirrel standing upright in prairie grassPhoto: Lauren McLaurin · CC-BYThirteen-lined ground squirrel rising from green lawn grassPhoto: Millie Basden · CC-BYThirteen-lined ground squirrel peering from a burrow entrancePhoto: Sean Frey · CC-BYThirteen-lined ground squirrel close portrait in dry grass

Thirteen-lined ground squirrel in Illinois, by the numbers

Common in Illinois 15th most recorded of 78 mammals logged in Illinois

567 occurrence records

561 with iNaturalist photos

Records from 2000–2026.

567 total records count every Illinois occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300; the monthly chart covers the 528 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Thirteen-lined ground squirrel in Illinois

Most sightings fall in April to August.

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

Monthly Illinois records (table)

Month	Records
January	0
February	1
March	9
April	65
May	95
June	103
July	98
August	73
September	47
October	27
November	10
December	0

Monthly thirteen-lined ground squirrel occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Illinois, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in Illinois, with recorded sightings peaking in April–August.

Occurrence map

Where Thirteen-lined ground squirrel has been recorded in Illinois

300 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

300 Illinois records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monument	iNaturalist records
Adeline Jay Geo-Karis Illinois Beach State Park	91
Midewin Other	17
Rock Cut State Park	5
Petersen Historic Farm	4
Chain O' Lakes State Park	2
Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie	1
Lake in the Hills Fen State Natural Area	1
Franklin Creek State Natural Area	1

Protected places with the most thirteen-lined ground squirrel 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 Illinois

County	Records
Lake County	102
Winnebago County	58
McHenry County	47
Sangamon County	35
Lee County	34
Ogle County	28
Will County	26
Kane County	23
McLean County	23
DeKalb County	17
Champaign County	15
Carroll County	11
29 other counties	148

The complete county distribution, spread across 41 Illinois counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Illinois reports for thirteen-lined ground squirrels lean north, with Lake County leading and Illinois Beach State Park, on the Lake Michigan shore, the top named site by far. Its open sand prairie provides the short, dry ground this burrowing squirrel uses.

Records peak in June and cover ten months, leaving a winter gap that fits reduced above-ground activity. Even so, reports show when observers detected animals, not how many were present.

Full species profile Thirteen-lined ground squirrel Ictidomys tridecemlineatus Size 17–30 cm6.7–11.8 in Weight 173 g6.1 oz Lifespan Up to 7.9 yr View the full profile

More mammals in Illinois 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"