Montana mammals

Wyoming Ground Squirrel in Montana

Urocitellus elegans

Native to Montana SU Unrankable in Montana

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

Wyoming ground squirrel peering from a burrow entranceWyoming ground squirrel close-up at a burrow rimWyoming ground squirrel standing upright in green grassWyoming ground squirrel feeding among meadow grassesLive Wyoming ground squirrel peering out of its burrow
Photo: Michael W Belitz · CC0Wyoming ground squirrel peering from a burrow entrancePhoto: Michael W Belitz · CC0Wyoming ground squirrel close-up at a burrow rimPhoto: JTchagbele · CC BY-SA 3.0Wyoming ground squirrel standing upright in green grassPhoto: ayden · CC BY 4.0Wyoming ground squirrel feeding among meadow grassesPhoto: Michael W Belitz · CC0Live Wyoming ground squirrel peering out of its burrow

Wyoming Ground Squirrel in Montana, by the numbers

Occasional in Montana 75th most recorded of 122 mammals logged in Montana

432 occurrence records

Records from 2000–2026.

432 total records count every Montana occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300; the monthly chart covers the 429 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Wyoming Ground Squirrel in Montana

Most sightings fall in July.

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

Monthly Montana records (table)
MonthRecords
January3
February0
March2
April34
May39
June117
July207
August27
September0
October0
November0
December0

Monthly wyoming ground squirrel occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Montana, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in Montana, with recorded sightings peaking in July.

Occurrence map

Where Wyoming Ground Squirrel has been recorded in Montana

300 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

300 Montana records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Montana State Trust Lands 19
Montana University System 3
Lee Metcalf Wilderness 3
Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge 1
Bannack State Park 1
Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge_Wilderness Area 1

Protected places with the most wyoming 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 Montana

CountyRecords
Madison County 334
Beaverhead County 51
Park County 34
Gallatin County 8
Fergus County 3
Broadwater County 1
Missoula County 1

The complete county distribution, spread across 7 Montana counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Wyoming ground squirrel carries the strongest record of any species in this rank band, 432 total sightings, concentrated around Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge and the Missouri River corridor’s prairie grassland. NatureServe lists the species SU, Unrankable, in Montana, a data gap rather than a conservation concern for an animal this well documented.

Records jump from single digits in early spring to 207 in July before dropping to zero by September, tracking this ground squirrel’s short active season above ground; like other ground squirrels, it spends much of the year underground in hibernation, so the record naturally goes silent outside the warm months.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Wyoming ground squirrel peering from a burrow entrance
Full species profile Wyoming Ground Squirrel Urocitellus elegans Size 19–24 cm7.5–9.4 in Weight 299 g10.5 oz Lifespan Up to 6 yr View the full profile

More mammals in Montana 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"