Mammals
Roadside Mammals
The Badlands are home to several kinds of herd animals. Mule deer are by far the most common animal to see on a drive through the park, but some visitors may also see white-tailed deer. Visitors should keep their eyes peeled for three less common animals of the Plains: bison, bighorn sheep, and pronghorn.
Pronghorn
Inaccurately called "antelope," pronghorn is actually the lone
surviving member of a family of its own. It is truly a North American
animal: its ancestors originated and remained here, unlike most other
North American mammals which crossed the Bering Land Bridge or travelled
up from South America. Pronghorn are incredibly quick, having been clocked
at over 50 miles per hour and maintaining that speed for up to five miles.
Their coloration is an adaptation to help them blend into the open prairie.
Bighorn Sheep
The bighorns of the Badlands were absent from the view for nearly forty
years. The last known bighorn was shot in the South Unit in 1926. In 1964,
the park reintroduced sheep in the Pinnacles area and the Sheep Mountain
area. In 1996, sheep were relocated from those areas to the Cedar Pass
area near park headquarters. Today, your best chances to see these elusive
animals are along the Door Trail or Cliff Shelf Nature Trail or at the
Pinnacles Overlook. Outstanding climbers and scramblers, bighorn thrive
in the steep rocky terrain of the Badlands buttes.
Bison
There is no animal more closely linked with America than the bison. Native
to the Badlands, bison were gone from this landscape by the 1880s. In
1963, bison were reintroduced into the Sage Creek basin. Due to a fear
of the disease brucellosis, Badlands bison are not a free-ranging herd.
They are contained within 64,000 acres to keep them from mingling with
surrounding cattle herds. (Note: no Badlands bison have ever tested positive
for brucellosis, a disease that causes the death of calves during the
birth process.) Although their true name is bison, these creatures are
more commonly called buffalo, an Anglicized version of the French word
for "beef." To see bison, you must travel the unpaved Sage Creek
Rim Road.
For a list of other mammals species that make Badlands their home see below.
Badlands Mammal List
| Insectivores | Bats | Rabbits & Hares | Rodents | Carnivores | Ungulates |
| Common Name | Scientific Name | Presence | Visibility |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hayden's Shrew | Sorex haydeni | Year round | Status Unknown |
| Dwarf Shrew | Sorex nanus | Year round | Status Unknown |
| Least Shrew | Cryptotis parva | Year round | Status Unknown |
| Common Name | Scientific Name | Presence | Visibility |
|---|---|---|---|
| Long-legged Myotis | Myotis volans | Summer Only | Uncommon |
| Northern Motis | Myotis septentrionalis | Summer Only | Status Unknown |
| Western Small-footed Myotis | Myotis ciliolabrum | Year round | Uncommon |
| Little Brown Myotis | Myotis lucifugus | Year round | Uncommon |
| Fringed Myotis | Myotis thysanodes | Year round | Uncommon |
| Silver-haired Bat | Lasionycteris noctivagans | Year round | Uncommon |
| Big Brown Bat | Eptesicus fuscus | Year round | Uncommon |
| Red Bat | Lasiurus borealis | Year round | Uncommon |
| Hoary Bat | Lasiurus cinereus | Year round | Uncommon |
| Townsend's Big-eared Bat | Plecotus townsendii | Year round | Uncommon |
| Common Name | Scientific Name | Presence | Visibility |
|---|---|---|---|
| Desert Cottontail | Sylvilagus auduboni | Year round | Common |
| Eastern Cottontail | Sylvilagus floridanus | Year round | Uncommon |
| Black-tailed Jackrabbit | Lepus californicus | Year round | Rare |
| White-tailed Jackrabbit | Lepus townsendi | Year round | Uncommon |
| Common Name | Scientific Name | Presence | Visibility |
|---|---|---|---|
| Least Chipmunk | Eutamius minimus | Year round | Common |
| Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel | Spermophilus tridecemlineatusi | Year round | Common |
| Black-tailed Prairie Dog | Cynomys ludovicianus | Year round | Common |
| Eastern Fox Squirrel | Sciurus niger | Year round | Rare |
| Northern Pocket Gopher | Thomomys talpoides | Year round | Common |
| Plains Pocket Gopher | Geomys bursarius | Year round | Status Unknown |
| Olive-backed Pocket Mouse | Perognathus fasciatus | Year round | Common |
| Hispid Pocket Mouse | Perognathus hispidis | Year round | Uncommon |
| Ord's Kangaroo Rat | Dipodomys ordii | Year round | Uncommon |
| Beaver | Castor canadensis | Year round | Uncommon |
| Plains Harvest Mouse | Reithrodontomys montanus | Year round | Common |
| White-footed Mouse | Peromyscus leucopus | Year round | Uncommon |
| Deer Mouse | Peromyscus maniculatus | Year round | Common |
| Northern Grasshopper Mouse | Onychomys leucogaster | Year round | Common |
| Bushy-tailed Woodrat | Neotoma cinerea | Year round | Common |
| Prairie Vole | Microtus ochrogaster | Year round | Common |
| Meadow Vole | Microtus pennsylvanicus | Year round | Common |
| Muskrat | Ondatra zibethica | Year round | Uncommon |
| House Mouse | Mus musculus | Year round | Common |
| Norway Rat | Rattus norvegicus | Year round | Status Unknown |
| Meadow Jumping Mouse | Zapus hudsonicus | Year round | Status Unknown |
| Porcupine | Erethizon dorsatum | Year round | Common |
| Common Name | Scientific Name | Presence | Visibility |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coyote | Canis latrans | Year round | Common |
| Swift Fox | Vulpes velox | Year round | Rare |
| Red Fox | Vulpes vulpes | Year round | Uncommon |
| Gray Fox | Urocyon cinereoargenteus | Year round | Status Unknown |
| Raccoon | Procyon lotor | Year round | Uncommon |
| Short-tailed Weasel | Mustela erminea | Year round | Status Unknown |
| Long-tailed Weasel | Mustela frenata | Year round | Rare |
| Least Weasel | Mustela nivalis | Year round | Status Unknown |
| Black-footed Ferret | Mustela nigripes | Year round | Rare |
| Badger | Taxidea taxus | Year round | Uncommon |
| Spotted Skunk | Spilogale putorius | Year round | Rare |
| Striped Skunk | Mephitus mephitus | Year round | Uncommon |
| Mountain Lion | Felis concolor | Year round | Rare |
| Bobcat | Lynx rufus | Year round | Uncommon |
| Common Name | Scientific Name | Presence | Visibility |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mule Deer | Odocoileus homionus | Year round | Uncommon |
| White-tailed Deer | Odocoileus virginianus | Year round | Uncommon |
| Pronghorn | Antiocapra americana | Year round | Common |
| Bison | Bison bison | Year round | Common |
| Bighorn Sheep | Ovis canadensis | Year round | Uncommon |