Part 3

~Lasiurus cinereus cinereus~ (Palisot de Beauvois, 1796)

Hoary Bat

The hoary bat seemingly is an uncommon summer resident of Harding County as but one specimen, a non-pregnant female, has been taken there. This bat was shot on the evening of June 22, 1961, in the Slim Buttes as it foraged over a small pond in Deer Draw (10 mi. S and 5 mi. W Reva).

~Plecotus townsendii pallescens~ (Miller, 1897)

Townsend's Big-eared Bat

Specimens examined (4).--2 mi. S, 3-1/4 mi. W Ludlow (Ludlow Cave), 2 (1 SDSU); 10 mi. S, 5 mi. W Reva, 2.

This big-eared bat evidently is uncommon in northwestern South Dakota. Of the four specimens examined, two were taken at Ludlow Cave and two were taken in June in the southern part of Slim Buttes--a female shot as it foraged over a pond in Deer Draw and another female netted over a water tank at Summit Spring about a half mile south of Deer Draw.

Ludlow Cave, in the caprock on the southeastern edge of the North Cave Hills, was formed by water erosion, resulting in numerous pockets and crevises in the ceiling and walls. The cave faces northwest; the mouth measures approximately 10 feet in diameter. A few feet from the entrance the cave narrows and approximately 50 feet back it is no more than three feet in diameter, although in the first 30 feet or so the ceiling varies from 10 to 15 feet in height. A thorough search of this cave on June 18, 1961, revealed one bat, a male Plecotus, which was shot from the ceiling about 15 feet from the entrance. No bats were found when the cave was visited on May 16 and again on June 4, 1968. Visher (1914:92) reported that several Plecotus were found there in early September, 1912. Probably Ludlow Cave, along with the several abandoned coal mines in the county, serves as a hibernaculum for some species of bats.

Order Lagomorpha

~Lepus townsendii campanius~ Hollister, 1915

White-tailed Jack Rabbit

Specimens examined (15).--NW 1/4 sec. 23, R. 1 E, T. 23 N, 1; sec. 24, R. 1 E, T. 22 N, 1; 2 mi. N, 2 mi. E Ladner, 1; 4 mi. S, 7 mi. W Ladner, 2; 10 mi. S Ladner, 1; 6 mi. N, 2-1/2 mi. W Camp Crook, 1; 2 mi. N Buffalo, 1; sec. 30, R. 3 E, T. 19 N, 1; SW 1/4 sec. 26, R. 2 E, T. 19 N, 1; 10 mi. S, 5 mi. W Reva, 3; 12 mi. S, 5 mi. W Reva, 1; 17 mi. S, 4 mi. W Reva, 1.

This jack rabbit is abundant throughout the areas of short grass in the county and individuals occasionally utilize grassy slopes of buttes. Extensive favorable habitat and the paucity of natural predators resulting from control operations probably are the principal factors favoring the heavy concentrations of this hare noted by all of our field parties.

A female examined on May 21 carried five fetuses and each of two others examined late in May carried six; all fetuses were nearly of the same size (110 to 120) and were completely covered with hair. A female obtained on May 31 appeared to have recently weaned young and females examined on June 5 and 17 were lactating. A female shot on June 28 and another taken on July 12 proved to be approximately half grown, although young of the year collected on June 16, 26, and 28 were nearly of adult size.

In late March of 1963, white-tailed jack rabbits were molting to summer pelage from the white pelage of winter.

~Sylvilagus audubonii baileyi~ (Merriam, 1897)

Desert Cottontail

Specimens examined (12).--2 mi. N, 5 mi. W Ludlow, 2; 10 mi. S, 4 mi. W Ladner, 1; 7 mi. N, 2-1/2 mi. W Camp Crook, 3300 ft., 1; 5 mi. W Buffalo, 1; 10 mi. S, 5 mi. W Reva, 7.

The desert cottontail is a common inhabitant of the uplands of Harding County, especially where varied local relief and in some instances brushy vegetation provide suitable cover. A female shot on May 26 in a dense stand of pines in the North Cave Hills carried five embryos that measured 75, another taken on July 4 was pregnant with six embryos that measured 18, and two females collected on June 16 and another on June 24 carried seven embryos that measured 32, 40, and 45, respectively. Two subadults collected in late June and two collected in early August were nearly full grown. The testes of an adult male obtained on March 28 measured 50.

The male mentioned above was completely in winter pelage. Adults taken on June 16, 23, and 24 had almost completed molt to summer pelage, but each retained some evidence of active hair replacement, most often over the shoulders; a pregnant female obtained on July 4 had only partially completed the molt to summer pelage. An adult female in summer pelage that was taken on August 4 was inexplicably molting on the sides and over the shoulders.

A May-taken female was parasitized by fleas, Cediopsylla inaequalis (Baker).

~Sylvilagus floridanus similis~ Nelson, 1907

Eastern Cottontail

Specimens examined (2).--4 mi. S, 7 mi. W Ladner, 1; 10 mi. S, 5 mi. W Reva, 1.

This rabbit is uncommon in northwestern South Dakota and evidently is strictly associated with riparian habitats. Our only specimens were taken along the Little Missouri River, where thickets and small cottonwood trees were prevalent, and at the edge of a thicket in spring-fed Deer Draw of the Slim Buttes.

A female obtained on June 26 carried eight embryos that measured 26, and was in process of seasonal molt. Testes of a male shot on May 20 measured 35.

Order Rodentia

~Eutamias minimus pallidus~ (J. A. Allen, 1874)