Indigenous Wildlife

The expedition made significant discoveries for the animal kingdom. Here's a look at the "ark" of critters the party collected while in present-day South Dakota. Watch for these animals on our river bluffs and open prairies as you trace the explorers' route.

Barking squirrels

Prairie Dogs The party discovered prairie dogs in the vicinity of Gregory County. It took nearly all day for the men to flush one of these furry critters out of its underground tunnel. They called the animals "barking squirrels" because of their resemblance to the rodents they knew back home. The reference to barking comes from the chattering noise the prairie dogs make.

Wild goats

Clark bagged the expedition's first pronghorn in present-day Lyman County. In their journals, both captains referred to the animals as wild goats. Lewis wrote this description on Sept. 14, 1804: "They apear to run with more ease and to bound with greater agility than any anamall I ever saw." Today, we know that these graceful creatures routinely reach speeds of 60 mph.

Prairie Wolves

They'd heard the distinctive howls at night, but they didn't get their first coyote specimen until Sept. 17, 1804. It was north of Chamberlain that the hunters brought in a "Small wolf with a large bushy tail," according to Clark's journal. That same day, Lewis brought in a "remarkable bird." Clark went on to describe the black-billed magpie, a species not known to exist in the New World.

Buffalo

Time and again, the captains recorded seeing buffalo by the hundreds (and sometimes thousands) on the rolling prairies. Joseph Fields shot the party's first buffalo on Aug. 23, 1804, in the southeastern tip of what is now South Dakota. The animals provided an excellent food source for the men, who ate well while in South Dakota. Between buffalo, elk and deer, each man ate about nine pounds of meat a day!

 

Currently found wildlife

Pheasant

The Ring-necked pheasant is South Dakota's State Bird and it was introduced in the state in the early 1900's. The first hunting season for this bird was in 1919 and there were 1,000 licenses issued for this one day season. There was a 2 bird limit and approximately 200 pheasants were harvested. The pheasant population was estimated to be about 100,000 birds. In contrast at the beginning of the 2006 season there were an estimated 8,400,000 birds and the state issued 178,865 licenses ( 79,953 resident and 98,212 non-resident). The season lasted for 79 days and the limit was 3 roosters. there were 1,846,000 birds harvested. There was an average of 6.22 pheasants per mile and the average brood size was 6.06.

Sharp Tailed Grouse

The grouse is another bird found in plentiful numbers and in 2006 there were an estimated 40,900 harvested by 13,971 licensed hunters during the 107 day long season.

Other game birds

Gray and chukar partridge, Mourning Doves or Eurasian Collared Doves, Ducks (Mallard, Pintail and Canvasback), Geese (Canadian, Brant, Snow, Blue, and Ross)

Game

Prairie Dogs, Coyotes, Fox, Deer, Antelope, Turkey, Mt. Goat, Bighorn Sheep, Mt. Lion, and Elk. There are limited hunting seasons for Mt. Goat, Bighorn Sheep, Elk and Mt. Lions. The mountain goat is actually a mountain antelope and not a true goat. The Rocky Mountain goat could not be found in South Dakota until 1924 when they were stocked in the Black Hills and there are 2 resident licenses issued per year. South Dakota's original wild sheep was the Audubon bighorn, but it became extinct around 1920. A herd of Rocky Mountain big horn sheep from Colorado were introduced to the Custer State Park area in 1959 and this year there were 4 resident licenses issued. Elk once ranged over all of South Dakota from the eastern prairies to the western Black Hills. By the time South Dakota reached statehood in 1889, no elk remained. Efforts began in the early 1900s to reestablish elk in South Dakota. Today, wild elk are found in the Black Hills and on the prairie in Butte, Bennett and Gregory counties. South Dakota's present-day elk herd consists of about 2,000 Rocky Mountain elk. Only South Dakota residents are eligible to apply for and receive an elk license in South Dakota. Mt. Lions populations have been increasing and there is now a Mt. Lion season open to South Dakota Residents. A maximum harvest of 35 mountain lions (or 15 female mountain lions) has been established for this season. Mt. Lions have been seen in the towns of Deadwood, Spearfish, Rapid City, and Sturgis. South Dakota Game Fish and Parks have had to kill Mt. Lions in each of those communities as they had been deemed dangerous. There was a small Mt. Lion that was killed when it got hit by a motorcycle near the city park in 2006.