Oregon mammals

Vagrant Shrew in Oregon

Sorex vagrans

Native to Oregon S4 Apparently Secure in Oregon

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

Vagrant shrew crossing bare sandy groundAI-generated image: Vagrant shrew foraging through low green ground cover. 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: Vagrant shrew paused in damp leaf litter. 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: Garth Harwood · CC BY 4.0Vagrant shrew crossing bare sandy groundAI-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 accuracyVagrant shrew foraging through low green ground coverAI-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 accuracyVagrant shrew paused in damp leaf litter

Vagrant Shrew in Oregon, by the numbers

Common in Oregon 56th most recorded of 178 mammals logged in Oregon

1,804 occurrence records
39 with iNaturalist photos
Mar 27, 2026 Last seen in Oregon

Records from 2000–2026.

1,804 total records count every Oregon occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300; the monthly chart covers the 1,798 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Vagrant Shrew in Oregon

Most sightings fall in July to October.

1,798 Oregon occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence.

Monthly Oregon records (table)
MonthRecords
January61
February44
March58
April121
May155
June121
July294
August290
September263
October201
November140
December50

Monthly vagrant shrew occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Oregon, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in Oregon, with recorded sightings peaking in July–October.

Occurrence map

Where Vagrant Shrew has been recorded in Oregon

300 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

300 Oregon records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Three Sisters Wilderness 26
E.E. Wilson Wildlife Area 17
Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge Wilderness Area 16
Siuslaw National Forest 12
Sauvie Island Wildlife Area 9
Denman Wildlife Area 9
Deschutes National Forest 8
Mount Jefferson Wilderness 6

Protected places with the most vagrant shrew 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 Oregon

CountyRecords
Linn County 179
Benton County 178
Tillamook County 145
Douglas County 133
Multnomah County 118
Lane County 110
Lincoln County 103
Grant County 82
Lake County 77
Columbia County 67
Clackamas County 57
Jackson County 56
22 other counties 499

The complete county distribution, spread across 34 Oregon counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Vagrant-shrew records bridge Oregon’s Cascades and interior, with Mount Hood and Deschutes national forests named in the data and Malheur representing the drier eastern end of the footprint. July towers over every other month in the series, while January and February contain no reports at all. Such a sharp peak likely incorporates survey timing and detectability, so it must not be interpreted as abundance or winter absence.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Vagrant shrew crossing bare sandy ground
Full species profile Vagrant Shrew Sorex vagrans Size 6.8 cm2.7 in Weight 4–8 g0.1–0.3 oz Lifespan Up to 2.1 yr View the full profile

More mammals in Oregon 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"