South Dakota mammals

Prairie Vole in South Dakota

Microtus ochrogaster

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.

AI-generated image: Prairie Vole alert in a grassy meadow, stocky grizzled brown-gray body and short tail. No public-domain photograph of this species exists. This image was generated with AI from verified reference material and reviewed by our editorial team for accuracyAI-generated image: Prairie vole foraging between grass stems. No public-domain photograph of this species exists. This image was generated with AI from verified reference material and reviewed by our editorial team for accuracyAI-generated image: Prairie vole at the entrance of a grass runway. No public-domain photograph of this species exists. This image was generated with AI from verified reference material and reviewed by our editorial team for accuracy
AI-generated image No public-domain photograph of this species exists. This image was generated with AI from verified reference material and reviewed by our editorial team for accuracyPrairie Vole alert in a grassy meadow, stocky grizzled brown-gray body and short tailAI-generated image No public-domain photograph of this species exists. This image was generated with AI from verified reference material and reviewed by our editorial team for accuracyPrairie vole foraging between grass stemsAI-generated image No public-domain photograph of this species exists. This image was generated with AI from verified reference material and reviewed by our editorial team for accuracyPrairie vole at the entrance of a grass runway

Prairie Vole in South Dakota, by the numbers

Common in South Dakota 16th most recorded of 100 mammals logged in South Dakota

344 occurrence records
1 with iNaturalist photos
Jun 5, 2022 Last seen in South Dakota

Records from 2000–2026.

344 total records count every South Dakota occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300; the monthly chart covers the 343 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Prairie Vole in South Dakota

Most sightings fall in June.

343 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
January1
February0
March1
April5
May17
June131
July73
August44
September52
October13
November6
December0

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

Seasonality

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

Occurrence map

Where Prairie Vole has been recorded in South Dakota

300 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

300 South Dakota records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Wind Cave National Park 23
Jewel Cave National Monument 6
State Lands 6
Missouri National Recreational River 3
Battle Mountain Game Production Area 3
Sand Creek Recreation Area 2
Buffalo Gap National Grassland 2
Sd Public Land 2

Protected places with the most prairie vole 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
Fall River County 87
Harding County 47
Stanley County 42
Custer County 32
Jackson County 23
Meade County 21
Bennett County 17
Lyman County 16
Lawrence County 15
Buffalo County 13
Clay County 6
Pennington County 5
8 other counties 20

The complete county distribution, spread across 20 South Dakota counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Prairie vole is a highly social rodent that builds interconnected burrow systems and forms lasting pair bonds, unusual monogamous behavior among small mammals. Its South Dakota records span the grassland and open forest edge of the Black Hills, Custer State Park, and Wind Cave National Park. NatureServe ranks the species S5, Secure, statewide.

Records rise through summer and peak at 9 in September, tracking a fall breeding pulse on top of the species’ typically rapid, near-continuous reproduction through the warmer months.

AI-generated image: Prairie Vole alert in a grassy meadow, stocky grizzled brown-gray body and short tail. No public-domain photograph of this species exists. This image was generated with AI from verified reference material and reviewed by our editorial team for accuracy
Full species profile Prairie Vole Microtus ochrogaster Size 12.4 cm4.9 in Weight 47 g1.7 oz Lifespan Up to 5.3 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"