Indiana mammals

Thirteen-lined ground squirrel in Indiana

Ictidomys tridecemlineatus

Native to Indiana S4 Apparently Secure in Indiana

Not listed as nonindigenous in Indiana by USGS NAS; native to its Indiana 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 Indiana, by the numbers

Occasional in Indiana 27th most recorded of 74 mammals logged in Indiana

111 occurrence records
68 with iNaturalist photos

Records from 2000–2026.

111 total records count every Indiana occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the monthly chart covers the 110 records with a full observation date.

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

Most sightings fall in April to September.

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

Monthly Indiana records (table)
MonthRecords
January1
February0
March5
April13
May15
June15
July18
August17
September18
October8
November0
December0

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

Seasonality

Year-round in Indiana, with recorded sightings peaking in April–September.

Occurrence map

Where Thirteen-lined ground squirrel has been recorded in Indiana

111 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

111 Indiana records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Prophetstown State Park 14
Kankakee Fish and Wildlife Area 1
Pine Creek Bottoms Gamebird Habitat 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 Indiana

CountyRecords
Tippecanoe County 35
St. Joseph County 13
Vigo County 13
Marion County 5
LaGrange County 4
Elkhart County 4
Steuben County 4
LaPorte County 4
Warren County 3
Jasper County 3
Marshall County 2
Montgomery County 2
15 other counties 19

The complete county distribution, spread across 27 Indiana counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Indiana thirteen-lined ground-squirrel records favor short grass and open, well-drained ground, from Kankakee Sands to mown roadsides, parks, and northern Indiana field margins. Most reports fall from April through July with another rise in September, bracketing the active season before winter hibernation.

The 68 iNaturalist records represent encounters, not ground-squirrel abundance. Colonies beside trails or lawns are easy to revisit, while similar habitat on private land is underreported, so mapped clusters reflect access and repeated observation as much as distribution.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

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 Indiana 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"