Climate Change Has Animals Heading for the Hills

SAN FRANCISCO—Chipmunks, mice and squirrels are heading for the hills, perhaps chased to higher elevations by a changing climate, scientists report.

Since the early 1900s, many small mammals in California have shifted their ranges dramatically, mostly to higher elevations.

Scientists compared modern notes with past museum director Joseph Grinnell, who investigated the diversity of mammals, reptiles, amphibians and birds along what he called the Yosemite Transect. With this information, scientists retraced this work, and documented with traps and photos the small mammals in this area that spans portions of the San Joaquin Valley, the Sierra Nevada, including parts of Yosemite National Park.