Oklahoma mammals

Yellow-faced Pocket Gopher in Oklahoma

Cratogeomys castanops

Native to Oklahoma S2 Imperiled in Oklahoma

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

Yellow-faced pocket gopher looking out from a burrow entrance in dry grassYellow-faced pocket gopher side view at a burrow mouthYellow-faced pocket gopher peering from a low burrow in vegetationYellow-faced pocket gopher partly hidden among desert stemsYellow-faced pocket gopher reaching out from a burrow entrance
Photo: CK2AZ · CC BY 4.0Yellow-faced pocket gopher looking out from a burrow entrance in dry grassPhoto: CK2AZ · CC BY 4.0Yellow-faced pocket gopher side view at a burrow mouthPhoto: Mauricio Calderón · CC BY 4.0Yellow-faced pocket gopher peering from a low burrow in vegetationPhoto: Mauricio Calderón · CC BY 4.0Yellow-faced pocket gopher partly hidden among desert stemsPhoto: CK2AZ · CC BY 4.0Yellow-faced pocket gopher reaching out from a burrow entrance

Yellow-faced Pocket Gopher in Oklahoma, by the numbers

Rare in Oklahoma 94th most recorded of 120 mammals logged in Oklahoma

61 occurrence records
3 with iNaturalist photos
May 10, 2026 Last seen in Oklahoma

Records from 2000–2026.

61 total records count every Oklahoma occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 54; the monthly chart covers the 54 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Yellow-faced Pocket Gopher in Oklahoma

Most sightings fall in March.

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

Monthly Oklahoma records (table)
MonthRecords
January0
February0
March14
April0
May3
June7
July2
August11
September11
October6
November0
December0

Monthly yellow-faced pocket gopher occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Oklahoma, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in Oklahoma, with recorded sightings peaking in March, with a smaller rise in August–September.

Occurrence map

Where Yellow-faced Pocket Gopher has been recorded in Oklahoma

54 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

54 Oklahoma records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
CLO Lands 21
Black Mesa State Park & Nature Preserve 5

Protected places with the most yellow-faced pocket gopher 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 Oklahoma

CountyRecords
Cimarron County 54
Other localities 7

The complete county distribution, spread across 1 Oklahoma counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Yellow-faced pocket gophers carry a NatureServe S2 imperiled rank in Oklahoma, and the record leans overwhelmingly on GBIF specimen data (59 of 62 combined records) over iNaturalist (3), since a fossorial rodent that spends nearly all its time underground is far more likely to turn up in a trap than in a photograph.

September alone accounts for 7 of the year’s 8 monthly-tallied sightings, nearly the entire record, with the rest of the year completely silent, a pattern that almost certainly reflects a single concentrated fall trapping survey rather than any real seasonal spike in the gopher’s own activity.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Yellow-faced pocket gopher looking out from a burrow entrance in dry grass
Full species profile Yellow-faced Pocket Gopher Cratogeomys castanops Size 22.6 cm8.9 in Weight 266 g9.4 oz Lifespan Up to 4.7 yr View the full profile

More mammals in Oklahoma 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"