South Dakota mammals

American Ermine in South Dakota

Mustela erminea

Native to South Dakota

Not listed as nonindigenous in South Dakota by USGS NAS; treated as native to its mapped South Dakota range.

IUCN Red List status

  1. LC
  2. NT
  3. VU
  4. EN
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX

LC – Least Concern

Widespread and abundant; not at risk.

Mustela Erminea headMustela erminea hibernicaMustela erminea uprightAmerican ermine standing alert on a wooden beamAmerican ermine peering from a mossy den entranceAmerican ermine in white winter coat crossing an alpine talus slope
Photo: Keven Law from Los Angeles, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0Mustela Erminea headPhoto: Alastair Rae from London, United Kingdom · CC BY-SA 2.0Mustela erminea hibernicaPhoto: Steve Hillebrand, USFWS · Public domainMustela erminea uprightPhoto: Robbie Hannawacker · CC0American ermine standing alert on a wooden beamPhoto: miaow7477 · CC0American ermine peering from a mossy den entrancePhoto: Игорь Загребин · CC0American ermine in white winter coat crossing an alpine talus slope

American Ermine in South Dakota, by the numbers

Occasional in South Dakota 52nd most recorded of 100 mammals logged in South Dakota

8 occurrence records
8 with iNaturalist photos

Records from 2000–2026.

8 total records count every South Dakota occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 7; the monthly chart covers the 7 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the American Ermine in South Dakota

Most sightings fall in June.

7 South Dakota occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence. Based on a small number of dated records; the seasonal pattern may not be representative.

Monthly South Dakota records (table)
MonthRecords
January1
February0
March0
April0
May1
June2
July1
August0
September1
October0
November1
December0

Monthly american ermine occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in South Dakota, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Sparse observation record in South Dakota; presence confirmed but timing of activity not well documented.

Occurrence map

Where American Ermine has been recorded in South Dakota

7 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

7 South Dakota records mapped

Where it's recorded in South Dakota

CountyRecords
Sanborn County 3
Brookings County 1
Edmunds County 1
Davison County 1
Codington County 1
Other localities 1

The complete county distribution, spread across 5 South Dakota counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

American ermines carry no NatureServe state rank on file in South Dakota, and all 8 of the state’s records are iNaturalist observations, 4 of them also carried in GBIF, so what’s documented here traces to casual sightings of a small, secretive weasel that’s easy to overlook. The records placed in a county all fall in the state’s eastern half, led by Sanborn County with 3.

Records scatter one or two at a time across six months, January, May, June, July, September, and November, too sparse a pattern in a dataset this small to draw any real seasonal conclusion, though June’s pair of sightings is the closest thing to a bump here.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

American Ermine in other states

Mustela Erminea head
Full species profile American Ermine Mustela erminea Size 17–33 cm6.7–13 in Weight 70–260 g2.5–9.2 oz Lifespan Up to 12.5 yr View the full profile

More mammals in South Dakota in the atlas

Data & sources

The data and visualizations on this page draw on these open sources:

  • GBIFCC-BY 4.0occurrence records behind the range map, elevation, and record counts
  • iNaturalistCC0 / CC-BY / CC-BY-SAobservations, photos, and audio recordings
  • IUCN Red Listattributed factthe global conservation status
  • USGS NASpublic domainnative / introduced status
  • Natural Earthpublic domainthe relief basemap
  • USFSpublic domainnational-forest boundaries