Washington mammals

Vagrant Shrew in Washington

Sorex vagrans

Native to Washington S5 Secure in Washington

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

Occasional in Washington 57th most recorded of 145 mammals logged in Washington

7,025 occurrence records
24 with iNaturalist photos
Jun 10, 2026 Last seen in Washington

Records from 2000–2026.

7,025 total records count every Washington occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300; the monthly chart covers the 6,999 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Vagrant Shrew in Washington

Most sightings fall in June.

6,999 Washington occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence.

Monthly Washington records (table)
MonthRecords
January186
February69
March150
April159
May1,280
June2,803
July1,291
August513
September282
October180
November53
December33

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

Seasonality

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

Occurrence map

Where Vagrant Shrew has been recorded in Washington

300 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

300 Washington records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Washington State Department of Natural Resources (WADNR) State Resource Management Area 952
Colville National Forest 433
Glacier Peak Wilderness 163
Ross Lake National Recreation Area 144
San Juan Islands National Monument 140
Kaniksu National Forest 49
Mount Rainier National Park 41
North Cascades National Park 34

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 Washington

CountyRecords
Pend Oreille County 2,472
Stevens County 1,780
Chelan County 451
Whitman County 299
Pierce County 288
Whatcom County 214
Pacific County 181
King County 168
San Juan County 128
Skagit County 118
Snohomish County 108
Clallam County 105
26 other counties 713

The complete county distribution, spread across 38 Washington counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Washington’s file for vagrant shrew holds 7,025 records from 2000–2026. A feed comparison finds 24 iNaturalist records against 7,019 in GBIF, with duplicates reconciled in the combined figure. On the atlas scale, the species occupies position 55 of 126.

The strongest month is June (2,803 records), whereas the quietest is December (33). Among named sites, San Juan Islands National Monument has 2 linked records, the strongest site-level signal here. These numbers locate and date records, but do not estimate how many animals Washington holds.

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 Washington 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"