Explore Utah

Utah wildlife and plants

The animals and plants of Utah's mountain forests, red-rock desert, sagebrush valleys and Great Salt Lake wetlands.

Get to know Utah through the animals and plants that live here. Browse the 63 profiles by habitat or region, compare a species' seasonal habits, and follow the linked agency and university sources when you want to learn more. Start with the landscape you expect to visit, then narrow the list to wildlife or plants.

This is an introduction, not a full inventory or field guide. Region labels show where a species lives, not where you will see it. Seasonal notes describe general patterns, and we don't publish exact sites for nests, roosts, colonies or rare plants. Check the land manager's current access information separately before a trip.

Choose a way in

I saw something and want to learn about it.Search a common or scientific name below. If you don't know the name, start with a broad group and habitat, then compare the profile's details rather than relying on color alone.
I'm planning a nature walk.Choose a region and habitat, and read a few profiles before you leave. Keep expectations flexible: a quiet walk is still a chance to notice plants, tracks and the way habitats connect.
I'm looking for wildflowers.Start with the wildflower planning guide, then use the plant profiles. Flowering windows are broad patterns, not a bloom forecast.
I'm visiting with children or a new observer.Pick one plant and one animal to learn about. Make the goal careful observation, not finding every species on a checklist.

Learn the landscape

A seasonal comparison makes a familiar landscape easier to read. At Arches, rainfall strongly shapes the wildflower display; at Cedar Breaks, high meadows bloom through a short summer. Those are local examples of why one statewide "best week" would mislead. Try the mountain and desert habitats, then the spring and summer pages.

Each profile answers three separate questions: what the organism is, what habitat or range its sources support, and what a visitor can responsibly observe. Conservation labels are shown with their category, scope and date, because a federal listing, a state priority list and a native-or-introduced label answer different questions.

New: guides to 7 habitats, four seasons and watching well, with the profiles that belong together.

17 profiles. Region means a place or range the sources name, plus species found statewide.

Wildlife

Birds

American avocet

An upturned bill, blue-gray legs and a sweeping feeding motion make this wetland shorebird especially distinctive.

Recurvirostra americana

Birds

Tundra swan

A large white migrant whose family groups link Utah's wetlands with Arctic nesting country.

Cygnus columbianus

Mammals

Mule deer

Found across Utah, from high mountains to city neighborhoods, and named for its large, mule-like ears.

Odocoileus hemionus

Elk resting and grazing in snow at Hardware Ranch — File photo: Elk at Hardware Ranch, Utah, January 2011. Photo: runt35 · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mammals

Rocky Mountain elk

Utah's state mammal, best known for the fall bugling of bulls during the rut.

Cervus elaphus nelsoni

Mammals

Moose

The largest member of the deer family in Utah, at home where northern mountain forest meets water.

Alces alces

File photo: A bison on Antelope Island with snowy Wasatch Mountains behind it (Taken on 18 March 2023, 19:26:38). Photo: Eric Kilby · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mammals

American bison

North America's largest land animal, with wild herds on Antelope Island, in the Henry Mountains and in the Book Cliffs.

Bison bison

Mammals

Mountain goat

White climbers of the high rock, brought to Utah starting in 1967.

Oreamnos americanus

Mammals

Cougar

Also called mountain lion or puma, and found wherever Utah's deer are.

Puma concolor

Mammals

Bobcat

A seldom-seen wild cat named for its short, bobbed tail.

Mammals

Coyote

Common across Utah, including in cities, and an opportunist that will eat almost anything.

A Townsend’s big-eared bat hanging from rock — File photo: Townsend’s big-eared bat in Utah, BLM archive. One of the bat species found in the state. Photo: John Larson / BLM Utah · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Mammals

Bats

Insect-eating flying mammals whose lives depend on suitable roosts, water and a safe seasonal cycle.

File photo: American avocets with raised wings at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. Photo: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Birds

Bear River refuge birds

Read the refuge as a changing set of habitats, from shallow feeding flats to marsh cover and deeper water.

A magnified Artemia franciscana brine shrimp against a dark background — Species reference photograph: Artemia franciscana brine shrimp. The source does not say where the specimen was collected. Photo: Biodiversity Institute of Ontario · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Invertebrates

Brine shrimp and brine flies

Tiny crustaceans and insects carry energy from Great Salt Lake's microscopic producers to its birds.

Birds

Black-necked stilt

Pink legs and a straight, needlelike bill distinguish this black-and-white wader from its avocet neighbors.

Himantopus mexicanus

Birds

Eared grebe

A small diving bird whose long autumn stopovers reveal the importance of Great Salt Lake's invertebrate food supply.

Podiceps nigricollis

Plants

Trees

Bigtooth maple

The maple behind the red and orange on Utah's fall hillsides.

Acer grandidentatum

Grasses

Indian ricegrass

Utah's state grass is a cool-season perennial whose airy seedheads rise from distinct clumps on dry ground.

Achnatherum hymenoides