Arctic Shrew - Distribution and Habitat

Distribution and Habitat

Arctic shrews are native to North America, ranging from the Arctic Circle in the north and as far south as the northern United States, into North and South Dakota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota. Their eastern limits are in eastern Quebec and the Atlantic Maritime provinces, and their western limits are the southern Yukon and Mackenzie valleys.

Arctic shrews are found in a variety of habitats in highest density of 3 to 5 individuals per acre and each individual arctic shrew appears to limit its range to one tenth of an acre. Of their various habitats, they found in greatest quantity and density in areas near bodies of water, such as lakes, streams, marshes, wetlands, bogs, swamps, ditches or open areas near wetlands. In the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, they are found densely in spruce and tamarack swamps, in addition to other typical habitats. Arctic shrews have been found in clearings in boreal forests, and occasionally in mixed conifer swamps, dry or old fields, dense grasses near ditches, mixed grasses, in the undergrowth of forest clearings, alder thickets, and dry marsh with grasses, sedge hammocks, forbs, cattail, willow, and red-osier shrubs.