South Dakota mammals

Eastern Mole in South Dakota

Scalopus aquaticus

Native to South Dakota S4 Apparently 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.

Eastern Mole (Scalopus aquaticus)Eastern mole surfacing head-first with front digging claws splayed
Photo: Bert Cash from Brunswick , USA · CC BY 2.0Eastern Mole (Scalopus aquaticus)Photo: Kenneth Catania, Vanderbilt University · CC BY-SA 3.0Front view showing the naked snout and paddle-shaped front feet

Eastern Mole in South Dakota, by the numbers

Rare in South Dakota 74th most recorded of 100 mammals logged in South Dakota

31 occurrence records
6 with iNaturalist photos
Sep 26, 2025 Last seen in South Dakota

Records from 2000–2026.

When to look for the Eastern Mole in South Dakota

Most sightings fall in July.

31 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
January0
February0
March2
April3
May5
June4
July8
August1
September3
October1
November4
December0

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

Seasonality

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

Occurrence map

Where Eastern Mole has been recorded in South Dakota

31 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

31 South Dakota records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Sand Creek Recreation Area 3
Palisades 1
State Lands 1
Union Grove 1

Protected places with the most eastern mole 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
Clay County 16
Union County 4
Bennett County 4
Minnehaha County 3
Bon Homme County 3
Shannon County 1

The complete county distribution, spread across 6 South Dakota counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Eastern moles spend nearly all their lives underground, so South Dakota’s record for the species leans toward GBIF specimen data (31 records) over iNaturalist (6), since actually seeing a mole above ground is rare even where they’re established. NatureServe rates the state population S4, apparently secure, in a state that sits near the western edge of this species’ range.

Records scatter across four months, April, June, August, and September, with June and September tied at 2 each, too thin a pattern to draw a firm seasonal trend from beyond confirming the mole’s presence around the wetland-edge soils of Sand Lake and Waubay national wildlife refuges.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Eastern Mole (Scalopus aquaticus)
Full species profile Eastern Mole Scalopus aquaticus Size 14.8 cm5.8 in Weight 75 g2.6 oz Lifespan Up to 6.2 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"