Olive-backed pocket mouse burrows in sandy soil, spending daylight hours underground and foraging for seeds only after dark, a habit that keeps this small rodent under-detected even in good habitat. South Dakota records span counties from Harding in the northwest to the southern tier, with Wind Cave National Park the only named place tally. NatureServe ranks the species S4, Apparently Secure, statewide.
Its 4 logged records fall entirely in July and August, though a count this small says more about how rarely a nocturnal burrower gets photographed than about any narrow true activity window.
Full species profile
