Northern Short-tailed Shrew
Blarina brevicauda
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Cordats)
- ClassMammalia (Mamífers)
- OrderSoricomorpha
- FamilySoricidae (Shrews)
- GenusBlarina (Short-tailed Shrews)
- SpeciesBlarina brevicauda (Northern Short-tailed Shrew)
The northern short-tailed shrew (Blarina brevicauda) is the largest shrew in the genus Blarina, and occurs in the northeastern region of North America. It is a semifossorial, highly active, and voracious insectivore and is present in a variety of habitats like broadleaved and pine forests among shrubs and hedges as well as grassy river banks. It is notable in that it is one of the few venomous mammals. The specific epithet, brevicauda, is a combination of the Latin brevis and cauda, meaning "short tail". Wikipedia →
5–10% of wildlife watchers report a Northern Short-tailed Shrew sighting in Riding Mountain National Park, based on 8 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
📅 Monthly Probability
☀️ When They're Spotted
Most active during daytime hours (6am–6pm) · across all parks (global)
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
| # | Park | Country | Probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shenandoah National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Riding Mountain National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 3 | Acadia National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Point Pelee National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 6 | Voyageurs National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Cape Breton Highlands National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada |
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Northern Short-tailed Shrew in Riding Mountain National Park?
About 7% of wildlife watchers report a Northern Short-tailed Shrew sighting in Riding Mountain National Park, based on 8 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Northern Short-tailed Shrew in Riding Mountain National Park?
September has the highest sighting rate for Northern Short-tailed Shrew in Riding Mountain National Park in our monthly data.