South Dakota mammals

Thirteen-lined ground squirrel in South Dakota

Ictidomys tridecemlineatus

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.

Thirteen-lined ground squirrel crouched beside short grassThirteen-lined ground squirrel standing upright in prairie grassThirteen-lined ground squirrel rising from green lawn grassThirteen-lined ground squirrel peering from a burrow entranceThirteen-lined ground squirrel close portrait in dry grass
Photo: sofi v · CC-BYThirteen-lined ground squirrel crouched beside short grassPhoto: carterdorscht · CC0Thirteen-lined ground squirrel standing upright in prairie grassPhoto: Lauren McLaurin · CC-BYThirteen-lined ground squirrel rising from green lawn grassPhoto: Millie Basden · CC-BYThirteen-lined ground squirrel peering from a burrow entrancePhoto: Sean Frey · CC-BYThirteen-lined ground squirrel close portrait in dry grass

Thirteen-lined ground squirrel in South Dakota, by the numbers

Common in South Dakota 17th most recorded of 100 mammals logged in South Dakota

494 occurrence records
338 with iNaturalist photos
Jul 12, 2026 Last seen in South Dakota

Records from 2000–2026.

494 total records count every South Dakota occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300; the monthly chart covers the 491 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Thirteen-lined ground squirrel in South Dakota

Most sightings fall in June to July.

491 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
March4
April44
May53
June157
July141
August57
September28
October4
November1
December1

Monthly thirteen-lined ground squirrel occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in South Dakota, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

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

Occurrence map

Where Thirteen-lined ground squirrel 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
Badlands National Park 20
Custer State Park 14
Wind Cave National Park 12
Lewis And Clark Recreation Area 9
Oakwood Lakes Recreation Area 8
Lake Vermillion Recreation Area 5
Black Hills National Forest 4
Mud Lake 4

Protected places with the most thirteen-lined ground squirrel 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
Minnehaha County 93
Pennington County 40
Custer County 39
Brookings County 34
Jackson County 25
Yankton County 24
Harding County 22
Brown County 19
Lincoln County 12
Bennett County 11
Deuel County 11
McCook County 10
40 other counties 154

The complete county distribution, spread across 52 South Dakota counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Thirteen-lined ground squirrels inhabit South Dakota’s short grass, grazed prairie, lawns, cemeteries, and roadsides. Alternating pale stripes and rows of spots distinguish them from local chipmunks.

Where to look

Watch open, closely cropped turf on warm days, including picnic grounds and mown prairie edges. Individuals often stand upright beside a burrow before vanishing underground. Observe rather than feed them.

They hibernate and are usually visible only from spring into early autumn. May through August produces the most reports.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Thirteen-lined ground squirrel crouched beside short grass
Full species profile Thirteen-lined ground squirrel Ictidomys tridecemlineatus Size 17–30 cm6.7–11.8 in Weight 173 g6.1 oz Lifespan Up to 7.9 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"