Kenneth W. Andersen

“ The species probably occurs throughout the rocky areas in the hills and buttes of Harding County, and also frequents abandoned or little-used buildings and feed stations for livestock. All of our specimens were trapped in rocky habitats, but in many such places we trapped unsuccessfully for Neotoma cinerea, even though some sign of its presence frequently was evident. Five of our seven specimens (all taken late in June or early in July) are young of the year in grayish pelage. An adult male trapped on July 14 had testes that measured 14. ”

“ The deer mouse is the most abundant and widespread small mammal in northwestern South Dakota. We took specimens in all terrestrial habitats, although the species was commonest in upland situations such as grassy fencerows, rocky areas, and hillsides supporting shrubs, juniper, or pine.
Adult mice in reproductive condition were taken in each month from May through August, although most of our information is for the months of May and June. In the last half of May, seven pregnant females carried an average of 5.0 (4-6) embryos that ranged in crown-rump length from 2 to 10 ”

“ The coyote population in Harding County and adjacent areas is low owing to an active predator control program that is supported by local ranchers and by state and federal agencies. Our field parties neither saw nor heard coyotes, although tracks were found at one or two places in March of 1963. According to Robert Kriege (personal communication) , the few coyotes that do reside in the area find refuge in the most rugged parts of the hills and buttes. Visher (1914:90) reported that this carnivore was "generally considered as abundant." ”

“ The mule deer is common in the buttes and adjacent badland areas of the county, and many were seen by members of each of our field parties. Local residents reported "black-tails" to be widespread in the area and State Game Protector Merritt Paukarbek reported to Andersen that even though hunting success was high in the autumn of 1967, there was no apparent reduction in numbers in the spring of 1968. In contrast, Visher (1914:88) found this species absent in Harding County in the early 1900's, and stated that it was "exterminated by 1900." ”

“ No white-footed mice were found along the generally treeless tributaries of the Moreau and Grand rivers to the east of Slim Buttes nor were these mice found along the Little Missouri River or in likely-looking habitat in the North Cave Hills. The P. leucopus of Deer Draw likely represent, therefore, an [Pg 379] isolated segment of a formerly much more broadly distributed population of white-footed mice on the Northern Great Plains in post-Wisconsin times. Other such populations may exist in Slim Buttes and perhaps elsewhere in the county. ”

“ Meadow Jumping Mouse
Eleven specimens of this jumping mouse were taken from a relict population restricted to a shrub-grass habitat adjacent to a small spring-fed stream and impoundment in Deer Draw (10 mi. S and 5 mi. W Reva) . Similar isolated populations may be present in the few other suitable mesic habitats in Harding County, but we have trapped extensively, yet unsuccessfully, for Zapus in such situations; specimens are known, however, from the Long Pine Hills and from along the Little Missouri River in adjacent Carter County, Montana. ”

“ Insofar as we can ascertain, T. hudsonicus does not now occur on any of the pine-clad buttes and ridges of the county, although the species is present in relatively dense stands of ponderosa pine in the Long Pine Hills of adjacent Carter County, Montana, at a place only a few miles west of the South Dakota border. Probably some individuals stray into the relatively small and sparsely-wooded areas of the Long Pine Hills that extend eastward to the north of Camp Crook. ”

“ Presumably, this white-footed mouse spread northwestward into the western part of the plains region along river systems, in company with deciduous trees, in some post-glacial period when the climate was warmer and wetter than now. ”

“ An adult female, not reproductively active, that was trapped in rather sparsely vegetated rangeland to the southwest of Slim Buttes (14 mi. S and 4 mi. W Reva) on July 19, 1961, is the only specimen of the hispid pocket mouse on record from Harding County. Other species of small mammals taken in the same or adjacent traplines were Perognathus fasciatus, Dipodomys ordii, Reithrodontomys megalotis, Peromyscus maniculatus, and Onychomys leucogaster. ”

“ Mammals from northwestern South Dakota that can be characterized as widespread are: Myotis leibii, Myotis lucifugus, Eptesicus fuscus, Lasionycteris noctivagans, Lasiurus cinereus, Castor canadensis, Peromyscus maniculatus, Ondatra zibethicus, Erethizon dorsatum, Canis latrans, Canis lupus, Vulpes vulpes, Ursus americanus, Ursus arctos, Procyon lotor, Mustela frenata, Mustela vison, Taxidea taxus, Mephitis mephitis, Lutra canadensis, Felis concolor, Lynx rufus, Cervus elaphus, Odocoileus hemionus, Odocoileus virginianus, Antilocapra americana, and Bison bison. ”

“ Kriege indicate that litters are born in mid-March in Harding County. He estimated that over the past few years he has examined whelps from an average of 50 dens a year, but that more than 170 dens were found in the spring of 1963.
Ursus americanus americanus Pallas, 1780
Black Bear
Visher (1914:91) reported that a black bear "was seen near the Cave Hills in July, 1910." He further noted: "Bears have been recently killed in the Long Pine and Ekalaka forests [of adjacent Montana] , but their day of extermination is here near at hand." We know of no other reports of this carnivore from the area. ”

“ North of Camp Crook, on the eastern edge of the Long Pine Hills, several M. evotis used an abandoned shed as a night roost in the summer of 1970; one was captured in a bat trap set at one of the entrances to the shed.
Females obtained on May 29 and June 17 and 19 carried single embryos that measured 3, 14, and 15, respectively. ”

“ Occasional individuals were trapped in areas of mixed shrubs and grasses. Four pregnant females taken in late June carried the following number of embryos (crown-rump lengths in parentheses) : seven (4) , six (5) , six (10) , five (4) . Three adult males taken in the same period had testes that measured 7, 7, and 8, whereas those of two May-taken males measured 12 and 6.
Molt from winter to summer pelage was in progress, from anterior to posterior, on both the dorsum and venter of many May- and June-taken animals. ”

“ This pocket mouse is not uncommon in areas of short grass and sage in Harding County. None of five adult females taken late in June was pregnant or lactating, but three had enlarged mammae indicative of reproductive activity earlier in the spring, to which young of various sizes in our series also attest. Active molt was evident on adults taken on June 19, 26, and 28.
Our specimens are intergrades between Perognathus fasciatus fasciatus and the paler P. f. olivaceogriseus. Average external measurements of seven adults (two males and five females) are: total length, 138.0 (130-150) ”

“ Lynx canadensis canadensis Kerr, 1792.—We have no reports of this species in Harding County save that Visher (1914:90) noted that local residents claimed specimens had "been taken recently in the Cave Hills." Hoffmann and Pattie (1968:53) reported that the lynx occurs presently in eastern Montana and we suspect that individuals may occasionally range into Harding County.
Zoogeographic Comments
Of the 53 mammals listed in the foregoing accounts, all but one (Mus musculus) are native North American species. ”

“ The muskrat is common in Harding County. Half a century ago Visher (1914:89) noted that it was "Fairly plentiful along the streams having deep permanent 'holes'."
Seven adults, all in winter pelage, were taken late in March from a pond near the west side of Slim Buttes (5 mi. S and 14 mi. E Buffalo) . Testes of three adult males measured 17, 19, and 22; of three females, none evidenced reproductive activity.
Mus musculus Linnaeus, 1758
House Mouse
The house mouse evidently is uncommon in rural environments in northwestern South Dakota. ”

“ The above list is composed mainly of volant or relatively large and mobile mammals, several of which occur also in Eurasia or range well into the Neotropics.
A few widespread species deserve special comment. Two, the pronghorn and bison, are typical inhabitants of the interior grasslands of North America and might be considered steppe species save for the fact that each has an extensive distribution beyond that region. ”

“ Deer mice from Harding County clearly are referable to P. m. nebrascensis (rather than to the smaller and paler P. m. luteus, which occurs to the east and southeast) , even though adults average somewhat paler than adults of typical populations of that subspecies. A tick of the Ixodes ochotonae-angustus complex was obtained from one specimen.
Onychomys leucogaster missouriensis (Audubon and Bachman, 1851)
Northern Grasshopper Mouse
Specimens examined (4) .—NE 1/4 sec. 22, R. 1 E, T. 22 N, 2; 2 mi. ”

“ Unless otherwise noted, specimens are housed in the Museum of Natural History. All measurements are in millimeters (those of embryos are crown-rump lengths) and weights are given in grams.
Order Chiroptera Myotis evotis evotis (H. Allen, 1864)
Long-eared Myotis
Specimens examined (20) .—NW 1/4 sec. 15, R. 5 E, T. 22 N, 2; 5 mi. N, 2 mi. W Camp Crook, 1; 10 mi. S, 5 mi. W Reva, 16; 7 mi. S, 4-1/2 mi. E Harding, 1.
The long-eared myotis is not uncommon in and around wooded buttes. [Pg 370] The species may be mostly limited to these areas ”

“ Other than mammals housed in the Museum of Natural History, we examined only three, two in the U.S. National Museum (USNM) and one in the collection at South Dakota State University, Brookings (SDSU) .
Literature Cited
Anonymous
1959. Building an empire: a historical booklet on Harding County, South Dakota. Buffalo Times-Herald, 108 pp.
Bailey, V.
1915. Revision of the pocket gophers of the genus Thomomys. N. Amer. Fauna, 39:1-136.
1927. A biological survey of North Dakota. N. Amer. Fauna, 49: vi + 1-226 [this publication is dated 1926, but actually was published on January 8, 1927] . ”