Myodes rutilus
Silhouette: PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
The northern red-backed vole (Clethrionomys rutilus) is a small slender vole found in Alaska, northern Canada, Scandinavia and northern Russia. They have short slender bodies with a rust-colored back, light brown sides and underparts and a short thick tail. Their short ears are visible through their fur. They are 14 cm long with a 3.5 cm tail and weigh about 30 to 40 g. Their dental formula is 1/1, 0/0, 0/0, 3/3. They are active year-round, usually at night. They can cause damage to fruit trees and stored grains.
Northern red-backed voles live in a variety of northern forest and shrubland habitats. They occur in every major forest type in central Alaska. Plant species commonly found in areas occupied by northern red-backed voles include black spruce (Picea mariana), white spruce (Picea glauca), quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides), paper birch (Betula papyrifera), alder (Alnus spp.), willow (Salix spp.), mountain cranberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea), blueberry and bilberry (Vaccinium spp.), bunchberry (Cornus canadensis), and a variety of grasses and forbs. Important fungi, mosses and lichens include truffle (Endogone fascilulata), Schreber's moss... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenai Fjords National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Denali National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Novosibirsk | 🇷🇺 Russia |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Universeum | 🇸🇪 Sweden |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Northern Red-backed Vole sighting in Denali National Park on a given day, based on 11 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 15th most-seen of the 19 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June and August–September
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Northern Red-backed Vole in Denali National Park on a given day, against under 5% in April, the lowest month. Those are among Denali National Park's wettest months, with about 140 mm of rain a month against 45 mm in April. November to February have too few records to rate.
Between 2 and 5 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Northern Red-backed Vole sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Northern Red-backed Vole sightings, Denali National Park ranks 2nd at about 20%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Kenai Fjords National Park (United States, about 20%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Northern Red-backed Vole is recorded against all the mammals logged in Denali National Park (11 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
