South Dakota mammals

Mountain Lion in South Dakota

Puma concolor

Native to South Dakota S2 Imperiled in South Dakota

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

IUCN Red List status

LC – Least Concern

Widespread and abundant; not at risk.

Photo: Jeff Bartlett · CC-BYMountain Lion (Puma concolor)Photo: Jeff Bartlett · CC-BYMountain Lion (Puma concolor)Photo: Jeff Bartlett · CC-BYMountain Lion (Puma concolor)Photo: Colin Croft · CC-BYMountain Lion (Puma concolor)Photo: Colin Croft · CC-BYMountain Lion (Puma concolor)

Mountain Lion in South Dakota, by the numbers

Occasional in South Dakota 48th most recorded of 100 mammals logged in South Dakota

37 occurrence records

36 with iNaturalist photos

Mar 30, 2026 Last seen in South Dakota

Records from 2000–2026.

37 total records count every South Dakota occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 36; the monthly chart covers the 36 records with a full observation date.

Field encounter

Where and when you're most likely to encounter a Mountain Lion

Most active: South Dakota, in May.

Where: South DakotaSD
When: May

Observe from a distance and give it room. Never approach, corner, or feed one.

When to be most aware of the Mountain Lion in South Dakota

Most sightings fall in May.

36 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)

Month	Records
January	4
February	1
March	2
April	6
May	17
June	3
July	0
August	0
September	0
October	1
November	1
December	1

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

Seasonality

Year-round in South Dakota, with recorded sightings peaking in May.

Occurrence map

Where Mountain Lion has been recorded in South Dakota

36 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

35 South Dakota records mapped

Where it's recorded in South Dakota

County	Records
Custer County	12
Fall River County	9
Lawrence County	8
Pennington County	5
Shannon County	1
Other localities	2

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.

Mountain lions carry a NatureServe S2 imperiled rank in South Dakota, a notably more cautious read than the “occasional” bucket label above might suggest, reflecting a low-density, wide-ranging predator that’s genuinely difficult to document reliably even where its Black Hills stronghold is well known. The record splits fairly evenly between iNaturalist (36) and GBIF (29).

May alone accounts for 14 of the year’s 29 monthly-tallied sightings, nearly half the total, a sharp spike that likely tracks dispersing subadult lions moving through more open, visible terrain in late spring; the record goes completely silent from July through September.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Mountain Lion in other states

View all states →

Full species profile Mountain Lion Puma concolor Size 1–1.5 m3.3–5.1 ft Weight 36–120 kg79.4–264.6 lb Lifespan 20 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