Scapanus orarius
Silhouette: T. Michael Keesey · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The coast mole or Pacific mole (Scapanus orarius) is a medium-sized North American mole found in forested and open areas with moist soils along the Pacific coast from southwestern British Columbia to northwestern California.
The nominate has a shorter skull and less enlarged maxillary region. The patterns of teeth shearing on dirt and earthworms (their main diet) set both subspecies apart from similar species. The coast mole is generally less than 200 mm long, with the tail being one-fourth of its total length. The fur is uniformly black. The skull is relatively narrow and long, with a sublacrimal-maxillary ridge that is underdeveloped. Teeth are uncrowned and evenly spaced.
The coast mole has a disjunct distribution, occurring from the western end of British Columbia, Canada through the western regions of Oregon and Washington, and in some parts of Northern California (coastal regions). The most extreme divergence of range for the coast mole has been seen to reach some parts of west-central Idaho. The species has a primarily... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Redwood National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
More parks will be added in future updates.
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Coast Mole sighting in Redwood National Park on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 21st most-seen of the 23 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Coast Mole in Redwood National Park on a given day, against under 5% in May and September–March, the lowest months. That is one of Redwood National Park's driest months, with about 10 mm of rain against 360 mm in January.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Coast Mole sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Redwood National Park, in our data
Redwood National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Coast Mole sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Coast Mole is recorded against all the mammals logged in Redwood National Park (6 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.
