Published by Paul Ivinskas
Sunday, October 25, 2026

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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

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.

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

Wildlife

Mule deer beside and crossing a paved road at Bryce Canyon
File photo: Mule deer beside and crossing a paved road at Bryce Canyon (2016-09-19 01:15). Photo: Donald Hobern from Copenhagen, Denmark · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Mammals

Mule deer

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

Odocoileus hemionus

A bull moose among rocks and low vegetation at Cecret Lake
File photo: A bull moose among rocks and low vegetation at Cecret Lake (2012-07-25). Photo: BBernardicius · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Mammals

Moose

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

Alces alces

A mountain goat standing on a trail on Mount Timpanogos
File photo: A mountain goat standing on a trail on Mount Timpanogos (Taken on 2 June 2016, 20:03:35). Photo: An Errant Knight · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Mammals

Mountain goat

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

Oreamnos americanus

Cougars recorded at night by a trail camera in Zion National Park
File photo: Cougars recorded at night by a trail camera in Zion National Park (2008-07-06 01:27). Photo: Zion National Park · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Mammals

Cougar

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

Puma concolor

A coyote beside a road on Antelope Island
File photo: A coyote beside a road on Antelope Island (2012-10-01 15:05:31). Photo: Hermann Luyken · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
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.

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.

An eared grebe (black-necked grebe) in breeding plumage on the water
File photo: an eared grebe (black-necked grebe) in breeding plumage on the water. Photo: Becky Matsubara from El Sobrante, California · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
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

A tuft of Indian ricegrass with airy seed heads beside red sandstone
File photo: A tuft of Indian ricegrass with airy seed heads beside red sandstone — Watchman Trail, Zion National Park, April 2016. Photo: Andrey Zharkikh from Salt Lake City, USA · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Grasses

Indian ricegrass

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

Achnatherum hymenoides

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