Vermont mammals

Western Little Brown Myotis in Vermont

Myotis lucifugus

Native to Vermont S1 Critically Imperiled in Vermont

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

IUCN Red List status

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

EN – Endangered

Very high risk of extinction in the wild.

Little brown myotis roosting alertly on a wooden beamLittle brown myotis roosting in the corner of an attic beamLittle brown myotis roosting on painted wood sidingLittle brown myotis resting among blue spruce branches
Photo: Steph Brulot-Sawchyn · CC0Little brown myotis roosting alertly on a wooden beamPhoto: LeeAnn Latremouille · CC BY 4.0Little brown myotis roosting in the corner of an attic beamPhoto: Tom Romeo · CC BY 4.0Little brown myotis roosting on painted wood sidingPhoto: Patrick Jackson · CC BY 4.0Little brown myotis resting among blue spruce branches

Western Little Brown Myotis in Vermont, by the numbers

Occasional in Vermont 39th most recorded of 65 mammals logged in Vermont

77 occurrence records
22 with iNaturalist photos
May 29, 2026 Last seen in Vermont

Records from 2000–2026.

77 total records count every Vermont occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 71; the monthly chart covers the 70 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Western Little Brown Myotis in Vermont

Most sightings fall in October to November.

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

Monthly Vermont records (table)
MonthRecords
January8
February2
March1
April10
May3
June1
July3
August7
September3
October12
November14
December6

Monthly western little brown myotis occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Vermont, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in Vermont, with recorded sightings peaking in October–November, with a smaller rise in April.

Occurrence map

Where Western Little Brown Myotis has been recorded in Vermont

71 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

71 Vermont records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Green Mountain National Forest 27

Protected places with the most western little brown myotis 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 Vermont

CountyRecords
Rutland County 24
Bennington County 22
Addison County 7
Windsor County 4
Windham County 3
Washington County 3
Chittenden County 2
Orange County 1
Lamoille County 1
Other localities 10

The complete county distribution, spread across 9 Vermont counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

This bat carries one of the starkest status gaps in the Vermont dataset: NatureServe rates the state population S1, critically imperiled, and the IUCN lists it globally Endangered, driven by white-nose syndrome, which has collapsed Vermont’s hibernating bat colonies since the disease arrived in the state around 2008. The 77 records here are a shadow of what pre-decline counts likely looked like.

Records cluster heavily in October and November, 26 of the 77 sightings, tracking the weeks when bats swarm at cave and mine entrances before entering hibernation, a period when they’re briefly easier to detect than during the rest of the year when survivors roost hidden and dispersed.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Little brown myotis roosting alertly on a wooden beam
Full species profile Western Little Brown Myotis Myotis lucifugus Size 8–9.5 cm3.1–3.7 in Weight 6–13 g0.2–0.5 oz Lifespan 35 yr View the full profile

More mammals in Vermont 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"