South Dakota mammals

Northern Grasshopper Mouse in South Dakota

Onychomys leucogaster

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.

Northern grasshopper mouse walking beside desert grassNorthern grasshopper mouse resting low among dry stemsNorthern grasshopper mouse on sandy soil from above
Photo: Logan Ediger · CC BY 4.0Northern grasshopper mouse walking beside desert grassPhoto: Stephanie Dolrenry · CC BY-SA 4.0Northern grasshopper mouse resting low among dry stemsPhoto: Cole Wolf · CC BY 4.0Northern grasshopper mouse on sandy soil from above

Northern Grasshopper Mouse in South Dakota, by the numbers

Occasional in South Dakota 38th most recorded of 100 mammals logged in South Dakota

60 occurrence records
2 with iNaturalist photos
Sep 8, 2025 Last seen in South Dakota

Records from 2000–2026.

When to look for the Northern Grasshopper Mouse in South Dakota

Most sightings fall in June to September.

60 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
March0
April1
May6
June9
July15
August11
September10
October2
November6
December0

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

Seasonality

Year-round in South Dakota, with recorded sightings peaking in June–September.

Occurrence map

Where Northern Grasshopper Mouse has been recorded in South Dakota

60 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

60 South Dakota records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Badlands National Park 1
Union Grove 1
West Whitlock Recreation Area 1

Protected places with the most northern grasshopper mouse 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
Bennett County 12
Brown County 8
Clay County 7
Pennington County 6
Perkins County 6
Harding County 6
Meade County 3
Day County 3
Codington County 1
Minnehaha County 1
Lincoln County 1
Kingsbury County 1
5 other counties 5

The complete county distribution, spread across 17 South Dakota counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Northern grasshopper mouse is a predatory rodent that hunts insects and other small mammals and is known for standing upright to deliver a thin, wolf-like howl marking its territory, unusual behavior for a mouse. Its South Dakota records span Badlands National Park and the Sand Lake and Waubay national wildlife refuges, open grassland and badland terrain suited to a burrowing hunter.

Records rise modestly in August, though with only 10 total sightings logged the pattern is too thin to call a true seasonal peak. NatureServe ranks the species S5, Secure, statewide.

Northern grasshopper mouse walking beside desert grass
Full species profile Northern Grasshopper Mouse Onychomys leucogaster Size 12.7 cm5 in Weight 33 g1.2 oz Lifespan Up to 5.6 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"