Illinois mammals

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

  1. LC
  2. NT
  3. VU
  4. EN
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX

LC – Least Concern

Widespread and abundant; not at risk.

Thirteen-lined ground squirrel crouched beside short grassThirteen-lined ground squirrel standing upright in prairie grassThirteen-lined ground squirrel rising from green lawn grassThirteen-lined ground squirrel peering from a burrow entranceThirteen-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 16th most recorded of 80 mammals logged in Illinois

729 occurrence records
501 with iNaturalist photos

Records from 2000–2026.

729 total records count every Illinois occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300; the monthly chart covers the 704 records with a full observation date.

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

Most sightings fall in May to July.

704 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)
MonthRecords
January0
February2
March11
April81
May160
June131
July122
August86
September60
October40
November11
December0

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

Seasonality

Year-round in Illinois, with recorded sightings peaking in May–July.

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 monumentiNaturalist records
Adeline Jay Geo-Karis Illinois Beach State Park 90
Midewin Other 16
Rock Cut State Park 6
Petersen Historic Farm 4
Chain O' Lakes State Park 3
Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie 2
Lake in the Hills Fen State Natural Area 1
Hennepin Canal State Trail 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

CountyRecords
Lake County 112
Cook County 109
McLean County 72
Winnebago County 63
McHenry County 49
Will County 38
Sangamon County 37
Champaign County 27
Kane County 25
Ogle County 22
DeKalb County 18
DuPage County 17
32 other counties 140

The complete county distribution, spread across 44 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 include the open margins around Cache River, Chautauqua, and Upper Mississippi refuge lands. These river sites aren’t simply wet habitat: their levees, mowed areas, and nearby fields provide the short, dry ground this burrowing squirrel uses.

Records peak in May 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.

Thirteen-lined ground squirrel crouched beside short grass
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"