California mammals

Townsend's Chipmunk in California

Neotamias townsendii

Native to California

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

Neotamias townsendiiTownsend's Chipmunk (Neotamias townsendii)Live Townsend's chipmunk feeding on leaves while perched on a branchLive Townsend's chipmunk sitting upright on a moss-covered boulder, striped back visibleLive Townsend's chipmunk close-up on the forest floor, cheek stripes and large dark eye visible
Photo: Ludovic Hirlimann from 's-Gravenhage, The Netherlands · CC BY-SA 2.0Neotamias townsendiiPhoto: Walter Siegmund (talk) · CC BY-SA 3.0Townsend's Chipmunk (Neotamias townsendii)Photo: Eric Habisch · CC BY 4.0Live Townsend's chipmunk feeding on leaves while perched on a branchPhoto: Sean Haight · CC0Live Townsend's chipmunk sitting upright on a moss-covered boulder, striped back visiblePhoto: John Hibbard · CC BY 4.0Live Townsend's chipmunk close-up on the forest floor, cheek stripes and large dark eye visible

Townsend's Chipmunk in California, by the numbers

Rare in California 178th most recorded of 241 mammals logged in California

32 occurrence records
1 with iNaturalist photos

Records from 2000–2026.

32 total records count every California occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the monthly chart covers the 29 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Townsend's Chipmunk in California

Most sightings fall in June.

29 California occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence. Based on a small number of dated records; the seasonal pattern may not be representative.

Monthly California records (table)
MonthRecords
January2
February0
March0
April1
May0
June14
July6
August3
September0
October2
November1
December0

Monthly townsend's chipmunk occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in California, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in California, with recorded sightings peaking in June.

Occurrence map

Where Townsend's Chipmunk has been recorded in California

32 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

32 California records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Desolation Wilderness 7
Point Reyes National Seashore 1
Trinity Alps Wilderness 1

Protected places with the most townsend's chipmunk 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 California

CountyRecords
El Dorado County 11
Humboldt County 5
Mendocino County 4
Santa Clara County 2
Trinity County 2
Madera County 2
Santa Cruz County 1
Plumas County 1
Modoc County 1
Siskiyou County 1
Marin County 1
Fresno County 1

The complete county distribution, spread across 12 California counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Townsend records follow California’s cooler uplands and forests more closely than the hot Central Valley floor. The Sierra Nevada, Klamath Mountains, and Coast Ranges aren’t interchangeable: snow, summer moisture, tree cover, and elevation shape where reports appear.

Road access and popular trails make some mountain belts much better documented than remote forest. A dense group of reports can identify a well-watched area, but it doesn’t prove that the species is more numerous there.

Only 32 California museum or survey records support this account. Monthly patterns can also reflect weather and observer activity, so they shouldn’t be treated as a direct count of animals.

Occurrence data from GBIF.

Neotamias townsendii
Full species profile Townsend's Chipmunk Neotamias townsendii Size 15 cm5.9 in Weight 79 g2.8 oz Lifespan Up to 9.3 yr View the full profile

More mammals in California 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"