South Dakota mammals

Plains Pocket Gopher in South Dakota

Geomys bursarius

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.

Plains pocket gopher emerging from a burrow in reddish soilLive plains pocket gopher in side profile, showing its stout body, tiny ears, and large curved digging clawsLive plains pocket gopher crouched low in green grass, its small ear, blunt snout, and stout forepaws visible
Photo: Sam Kieschnick · CC BYPlains pocket gopher emerging from a burrow in reddish soilPhoto: Unknown author · Public domainLive plains pocket gopher in side profile, showing its stout body, tiny ears, and large curved digging clawsPhoto: Evan H · CC BY 4.0Live plains pocket gopher crouched low in green grass, its small ear, blunt snout, and stout forepaws visible

Plains Pocket Gopher in South Dakota, by the numbers

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

115 occurrence records
6 with iNaturalist photos
May 15, 2026 Last seen in South Dakota

Records from 2000–2026.

115 total records count every South Dakota occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the monthly chart covers the 114 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Plains Pocket Gopher in South Dakota

Most sightings fall in July.

114 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
March19
April7
May5
June18
July32
August5
September10
October3
November15
December0

Monthly plains pocket gopher occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in South Dakota, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

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

Occurrence map

Where Plains Pocket Gopher has been recorded in South Dakota

115 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

115 South Dakota records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Union Grove 6
Sand Creek Recreation Area 3
Black Hills National Forest 2
Dog Ear Lake 2
Sica Hollow 1
Summit 1
Spirit Mound 1

Protected places with the most plains pocket gopher 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
Brown County 37
Fall River County 14
Clay County 12
Union County 9
Bennett County 9
Grant County 6
Marshall County 6
Brookings County 5
Minnehaha County 4
Bon Homme County 3
Yankton County 2
Tripp County 2
5 other counties 6

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.

Plains pocket gophers spend nearly their entire lives underground, so South Dakota’s record for the species leans overwhelmingly on GBIF specimen and trapping data, 114 records against just 6 from iNaturalist, nearly nineteen to one, since actually seeing a gopher above ground is rare even where they’re common. NatureServe rates the state population S5, secure, despite that imbalance in how it’s documented.

The small handful of iNaturalist-visible records scatter across May, June, and October (2 each), though with GBIF dominating the total record so heavily, that pattern says more about when casual observers happened to spot mound-building activity than about the gopher’s actual seasonal presence.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Plains pocket gopher emerging from a burrow in reddish soil
Full species profile Plains Pocket Gopher Geomys bursarius Size 25–35 cm9.8–13.8 in Weight 187 g6.6 oz Lifespan Up to 12 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"