I am not a mammalogist, but according to *Wild Mammals of South Dakota* (2002, published by the SD Department of Game, Fish and Parks) that is most likely a Dwarf Shrew (*Sorex nanus*) rather than a Pigmy Shrew (*Sorex h*oyi), as the latter is known only from the Eastern half of the state.
The book says that the Dwarf Shrew habitats include "alpine rubble slopes, pinyon-juniper, shortgrass prairie, sedge marsh habitats, and dry stubble fields. In South Dakota, dwarf shrews have been found mainly in grassland" and are active year-round, feeding on "soft-bodied spiders, insects, and carrion." Based on this information, your strategy should probably be sealing off all cracks, crevices, and other penetrations of the building perimeter so they cannot seek harborage in your building, and eliminating other pests they may be feeding on inside the building. Their risk to collections is most likely from searching for nesting material and being attractants to other pests if they die (as you probably know, shrews have a very high metabolism rate and starve rather quickly if they cannot find food). Hope this helps, John John E. Simmons Writer and Museum Consultant Museologica *and* Associate Curator of Collections Earth and Mineral Science Museum & Art Gallery Penn State University *and* Investigador Asociado, Departamento de Ornitologia Museo de Historia Natural, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima On Fri, Dec 2, 2022 at 3:28 PM Jodi Lundgren <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi all, > > > > I’m sorry to be asking for so much identification help. We have had > problems with shrews in the past and found a new one in a trap today. We > have pygmy shrews here in South Dakota and I think this looks like those. > Can anyone confirm? > > > > And can anyone point me in a direction to find more out about these shrews > and the risks they pose to collections? > > > > Thanks! > > > > Jodi Lundgren > > Collections Manager > > The Indian Museum of North America® > > Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation > > 12151 Avenue of the Chiefs > > Crazy Horse, SD 57730-8900 > > Phone (605) 673-4681 > > [email protected] > > *www.crazyhorsememorial.org <http://www.crazyhorsememorial.org>* > > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "MuseumPests" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pestlist/SN6PR02MB5421F37F011E161638A9092B95179%40SN6PR02MB5421.namprd02.prod.outlook.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pestlist/SN6PR02MB5421F37F011E161638A9092B95179%40SN6PR02MB5421.namprd02.prod.outlook.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MuseumPests" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pestlist/CAF7GCDZKRn7F6oxmE-jiGjhyjtmqJV5t7sW2Az7L7TuwaxhU%2BA%40mail.gmail.com.
