South Dakota mammals

Bobcat in South Dakota

Lynx rufus

Native to South Dakota S5 Secure in South Dakota

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

Bobcat (Lynx rufus)Close-up of a bobcat's face showing black-tufted ears and cheek ruffsBobcat resting on a weathered wooden fence in warm evening lightFull-body profile of a rusty desert bobcat on red dirtGrayish northern bobcat sitting in profile on autumn grassBobcat perched on a pipe above a snowy mountain valley
Photo: Brandon Johnson · CC BY 4.0Bobcat (Lynx rufus)Photo: benjchristensen · CC BY 4.0The tufted ears, flared cheek ruffs, and yellow eyes of an alert bobcat.Photo: Robbie Hannawacker · CC0A bobcat rests on a fence rail, spotted flank catching the low sun.Photo: Ken-ichi Ueda · CC BY 4.0The pale, rusty coat of a desert bobcat, its short tail black-tipped above.Photo: Kimball Garrett · CC0A grayer, heavily spotted bobcat of the northern woods on a frosty morning.Photo: Dillon Alexander · CC0A bobcat pauses above a snow-dusted valley in the mountain West.

Bobcat in South Dakota, by the numbers

Occasional in South Dakota 60th most recorded of 100 mammals logged in South Dakota

36 occurrence records
17 with iNaturalist photos
Dec 14, 2025 Last seen in South Dakota

Records from 2000–2026.

36 total records count every South Dakota occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the monthly chart covers the 32 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Bobcat in South Dakota

Most sightings fall in March.

32 South Dakota occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence.

Monthly South Dakota records (table)
MonthRecords
January2
February2
March6
April2
May4
June2
July0
August6
September0
October2
November1
December5

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

Seasonality

Year-round in South Dakota, with recorded sightings peaking in March, with a smaller rise in May and August.

Occurrence map

Where Bobcat has been recorded in South Dakota

36 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

36 South Dakota records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Badlands National Park 3
Wind Cave National Park 2
Custer State Park 1

Protected places with the most bobcat sightings, from the USGS Protected Areas Database plus named mountain ranges, good spots to look, not a full breakdown, so they don't sum to the total.

Where it's recorded in South Dakota

CountyRecords
Custer County 11
Pennington County 10
Harding County 4
Potter County 3
Shannon County 1
Corson County 1
Jackson County 1
Fall River County 1
Stanley County 1
Sully County 1
Clay County 1
Hanson County 1

The complete county distribution, spread across 12 South Dakota counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Bobcat holds a solid mid-tier record in South Dakota, with 50 combined iNaturalist and GBIF sightings concentrated around Custer State Park, Black Hills National Forest, and Badlands National Park, rugged, broken terrain that suits this ambush predator’s hunting style. The heavier GBIF share suggests some of this documentation comes from trapping and furbearer survey data rather than casual sightings alone.

Reports rise through spring and peak from March through May, with a smaller August rise, tracking kitten-rearing season when bobcats move more and become easier to detect. NatureServe ranks the species S5, Secure, statewide.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Bobcat in other states

View all states →

Bobcat (Lynx rufus)
Full species profile Bobcat Lynx rufus Size 30–60 cm11.8–23.6 in Weight 4–18 kg8.8–39.7 lb Lifespan 10 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
  • NatureServe ExplorerCC-BYthe state conservation rank
  • IUCN Red Listattributed factthe global conservation status
  • USGS NASpublic domainnative / introduced status
  • Natural Earthpublic domainthe relief basemap
  • USFSpublic domainnational-forest boundaries
  • USGS Protected Areas Databasepublic domainthe named parks, forests, and refuges behind "notable places to look"