Part 9

Visher (1914) made no mention of this species in his report of the natural history of Harding County.

~Mustela vison letifera~ Hollister, 1913

Mink

Tracks of a mink were observed by a member of one of our field parties (T. H. Swearingen) in late March of 1963 at a pond 5 mi. S and 14 mi. E Buffalo, and one was reported to have been trapped in the same area the previous winter. Reports by local residents indicate that mink occur along the Little Missouri River as well as streams on the north side of the North Cave Hills. Visher (1914:91) reported the species to be uncommon but he knew of one trapped in February of 1911 on Bull Creek.

~Taxidea taxus taxus~ (Schreber, 1778)

Badger

Specimens examined (4).--Sec. 25, R. 3 E, T. 22 N, 1; NE 1/4 sec. 28, R. 4 E, T. 19 N, 1; 4 mi. E Reva, 1; 10 mi. S, 2 mi. W Buffalo, 1.

Local residents regarded the badger as relatively common in the grasslands of Harding County, although this species was only rarely observed by members of our field parties. Visher (1914:91) reported it to be "quite common."

~Spilogale putorius interrupta~ (Rafinesque, 1820)

Spotted Skunk

We took no spotted skunks in northwestern South Dakota and both local residents and government trappers reported this species to be rare in the area. Visher (1914:91) indicated that it was "much more common than the large skunk" in the early part of this century.

~Mephitis mephitis hudsonica~ Richardson, 1829

Striped Skunk

Visher (1914:91) found this species to be "uncommon" in Harding County, as we did more than a half century later. Some local residents, however, reported this skunk to be fairly abundant. We took one specimen, an adult female having enlarged mammae that was captured on July 6, 1965, at a place 7 mi. S and 4-1/2 mi. E Harding, just south of the Short Pine Hills. Site records of several other striped skunks were obtained as follows: 14 mi. N Buffalo; 6 mi. N and 2-1/2 mi. W Camp Crook; 5-1/2 mi. WNW Buffalo; 1-1/2 mi. S and 1/2 mi. E Buffalo; 4 mi. S Buffalo; 10 mi. SW Ralph; and 1 mi. S Reva.

~Lutra canadensis interior~ Swenk, 1920

Otter

We have no record of this species in Harding County other than Visher's (1914:91) report that an individual was "recently trapped along the Little Missouri River."

~Felis concolor hippolestes~ Merriam, 1897

Mountain Lion

This large cat likely occurred throughout northwestern South Dakota prior to settlement by white man. No specimens are available from Harding County, but Visher (1914:91) reported that an individual "visited the East Short Pines in the winter of 1910-11." It is doubtful that Felis concolor occurs in the area today, except possibly as an occasional transient.

~Lynx rufus pallescens~ Merriam, 1899

Bobcat

Specimens examined (3).--12 mi. N, 9 mi. W Buffalo, 1; 11 mi. N, 7 mi. W Buffalo, 1; 9 mi. N, 9 mi. W Buffalo, 1.

The bobcat, although not abundant, is generally distributed throughout Harding County, particularly in the buttes and badlands. Visher (1914:90) reported the species as common in the early part of this century. Our three specimens were shot in March 1963 by professional hunters sponsored by the Western South Dakota Sheepman Association, two from the air and one on the ground. Two other bobcats were killed in the same three-day period (March 25-27).

We tentatively assign our specimens to the subspecies pallescens owing to their pale color and the general agreement of their external and cranial measurements with those reported for other specimens of that race. Geographic variation in Lynx rufus from throughout the Northern Great Plains is poorly documented, however, and is in need of critical analysis. External measurements of the three specimens, all males (adult and two young adults, respectively), are: total length, 870, 925, 820; length of tail, 142, 176, 155; length of hind foot, 191, 192, 178; length of ear, 82, 84, 71; weight (pounds), 23, 17, 16. Respective lengths of testes were 30, 36, and 15. Selected cranial measurements of the adult and largest young adult are: condylobasal length, 113.7, 111.5; zygomatic breadth, 88.3, 83.7; interorbital constriction, 24.5, 23.5; length of nasals, 30.1, 30.8; length of maxillary toothrow, 37.7, 38.6.

Order Artiodactyla

~Cervus elaphus canadensis~ Erxleben, 1777

Wapiti or Elk