South Dakota mammals

Long-tailed Weasel in South Dakota

Neogale frenata

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.

Long-tailed weasel standing alert in grass with its black-tipped tail curled behind it, Sonoma County, CaliforniaLong-tailed weasel pausing at the edge of a paved trail beside tall grass, San Francisco, CaliforniaLong-tailed weasel peering over a log, showing its cream underside and brown crown, VermontLong-tailed weasel with a bridled black-and-white facial mask peering through a gap in deck boards, TexasLong-tailed weasel standing alert among limestone rocks, New Mexico
Photo: benjchristensen · CC BY 4.0Long-tailed weasel standing alert in grass with its black-tipped tail curled behind it, Sonoma County, CaliforniaPhoto: Jay Paroline · CC BY 4.0Long-tailed weasel pausing at the edge of a paved trail beside tall grass, San Francisco, CaliforniaPhoto: Bernie Paquette · CC BY 4.0Long-tailed weasel peering over a log, showing its cream underside and brown crown, VermontPhoto: johnyochum · CC BY 4.0Long-tailed weasel with a bridled black-and-white facial mask peering through a gap in deck boards, TexasPhoto: Bob Nieman · CC BY 4.0Long-tailed weasel standing alert among limestone rocks, New Mexico

Long-tailed Weasel in South Dakota, by the numbers

Occasional in South Dakota 66th most recorded of 100 mammals logged in South Dakota

20 occurrence records
11 with iNaturalist photos
Nov 21, 2025 Last seen in South Dakota

Records from 2000–2026.

When to look for the Long-tailed Weasel in South Dakota

Most sightings fall in July to August.

20 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
June1
July8
August5
September0
October0
November3
December1

Monthly long-tailed weasel occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in South Dakota, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in South Dakota, with recorded sightings peaking in July–August.

Occurrence map

Where Long-tailed Weasel has been recorded in South Dakota

20 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

20 South Dakota records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Black Hills National Forest 2

Protected places with the most long-tailed weasel 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
Pennington County 5
Bennett County 3
Custer County 3
Lawrence County 2
Yankton County 1
Lyman County 1
Union County 1
Clark County 1
Faulk County 1
Deuel County 1
Charles Mix County 1

The complete county distribution, spread across 11 South Dakota counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Long-tailed weasels carry a healthy NatureServe rating in South Dakota, S5 secure, though the record here rests entirely on 10 iNaturalist sightings with no GBIF specimen data logged, unusual for a weasel species that in many states leans heavily on trapping records instead. Custer State Park’s 2 logged sightings, a fifth of the state total, anchor the record in the Black Hills.

That imbalance suggests South Dakota’s documented sightings come mostly from people encountering the animal directly along the Missouri River corridor and in the Black Hills rather than from survey or fur-industry data, and with a record this thin, no clear seasonal pattern can be drawn from it.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist.

Long-tailed weasel standing alert in grass with its black-tipped tail curled behind it, Sonoma County, California
Full species profile Long-tailed Weasel Neogale frenata Size 24.8 cm9.8 in Weight 170 g6 oz Lifespan Up to 8.8 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"