Aug 25 – Sept 2 – South Dakota - Part 5 – Animals

We’ve seen just a few small animals, but we have had very good large animal sightings so far on this trip.

Small creatures have included one of the largest beetles we’ve ever seen, a turtle, and prairie dogs. 

The prairie dog is a keystone species in the Western prairie.  Long considered pests by the agricultural community, their populations have been in decline since the 1900’s.  They are a type of ground squirrel (rodent).  They weigh from 1-3 pounds and are 14-17 inches long.  Colonies are formed with complex underground burrows (3-14 feet deep, 13-109 feet long).  

They have a complex social structure.  They frequently bark and yip, often to warn the colony of danger.  They are very cute to watch, having lots of personality.

Bison are the largest animal in North America (6’ tall, 2000 lbs.).  They are neither friendly nor docile, and should be observed from afar.  They can run 35 mph, spin quickly, and could jump high fences or knock them over, but are too dumb to know it. Last year in Custer Park, three foolish people were gored, and one of them died.  We kept our distance.  

We had the great luck (and delight) of seeing a herd of bison by taking an evening Buffalo Safari tour offered within the state park.

There are about 1400 Bison in Custer State Park, considered the most ‘pure’ blood line in the country.  Each year, they are rounded up, branded, inoculated and some are sold to keep the herd healthy and to repopulate other herds around the country.  
Attending this roundup is said to be quite an extravaganza.  We might need to add that event to the list!

  Bison roll around in a ‘wallow’ to scratch their back, and shake off biting bugs.  They can’t roll from side to side because their backbone gets in the way.  So, when the roll in a wallow, they will roll on one side, then stand up and drop down to their other side to roll. 


The wallows become permenant deep indentations in the ground which collect rainwater and become watering holes.  Other Bison will re-use a wallow like a communal spa.  Some wallows are many years old.

We really liked the buffalo.

Pronghorns (antelope) live in the open grassland and are the fastest land animal in North America.  They can run 60 mph over great distances far longer than the Cheetah.

We watched them scamper around late in the afternoon.

Burros in Custer Park are not native to South Dakota.  We saw them late in the day. They were part of a tourist attraction near the park many years ago and when those rides were discontinued, the burros were released. 

They are loaded with fleas, flies and other pests.




We saw this lone mountain goat on the Needles Highway, perched on top of a granite spire.  Mountain Goats were not found in South Dakota until 1924.  They are not true goats, but related more closely to the European Chamois or the Asiatic goat antelope.  

They are slow and clumsy in their motions, but they are the most skillful alpine climbers of hooved animals of the Americas.  

Their padded hooves behave like suction cups. They are usually seen around high elevation granite outcroppings and inaccessible cliffs.  They feed on grass, moss, lichen and other high elevation vegetation.  Their only real enemies are snow and rock avalanches.

We found these female bighorn sheep in the Badlands.  They inhabit alpine meadows near rugged rocky cliffs.  There are many local predators to the sheep … coyotes, wolves, bear and cougars.  

Females forage and walk in the lowlands more than males, possibly to avoid predators and protect the young.

And what wildlife collection would be complete without a deer.  They are everywhere!  The tour guides don't even bother to stop or point out the deer.  

We observed a coyote try to cross the street.  He was nearly frozen with fear, pacing back and forth, apparently looking for an opportunity to cross the road.  

The longer he stood still, the more cars stopped, the more people popped out to take pictures, and the situation only deteriorated for him.  We left before knowing if he crossed safely.

We have spent most of our time so far in desert, and very dry grasslands.  The flowers aren’t much, but they try hard!  Most flowers of color are tiny (the size of a fingernail), except for a wild daisy that we saw quite a bit.  Most grow close to the ground.   The dried up remnants are just as interesting as current blooms.

So that pretty much sums up plants and animals.  Next post - Gold in them 'thar hills.
Night Night.