Utah mammals

American Pika in Utah

Ochotona princeps

Native to Utah S4 Apparently Secure in Utah

Not listed as nonindigenous in Utah by USGS NAS; native to its Utah range.

IUCN Red List status

  1. LC
  2. NT
  3. VU
  4. EN
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX

LC – Least Concern

Widespread and abundant; not at risk.

American pika perched on a talus rock with a mouthful of alpine wildflowersAmerican pika perched atop a lichen-covered talus boulderAmerican pika standing on rock with a blade of grass in its mouthAmerican pika camouflaged among granite talus bouldersAmerican pika hopping between rocks with a mouthful of grass
Photo: Frédéric Dulude-de Broin · CC BY-SA 4.0American pika perched on a talus rock with a mouthful of alpine wildflowersPhoto: James St. John · CC BY 2.0American pika perched atop a lichen-covered talus boulderPhoto: sevenstar · Public domainAmerican pika standing on rock with a blade of grass in its mouthPhoto: Vaughn Michael Shirey · CC0American pika camouflaged among granite talus bouldersPhoto: Hunter Hickok · CC BY 4.0American pika hopping between rocks with a mouthful of grass

American Pika in Utah, by the numbers

Common in Utah 29th most recorded of 141 mammals logged in Utah

1,472 occurrence records
708 with iNaturalist photos
Jul 9, 2026 Last seen in Utah

Records from 2000–2026.

1,472 total records count every Utah occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300; the monthly chart covers the 1,471 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the American Pika in Utah

Most sightings fall in July to August.

1,471 Utah occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence.

Monthly Utah records (table)
MonthRecords
January1
February0
March0
April0
May23
June139
July552
August518
September150
October72
November16
December0

Monthly american pika occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Utah, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in Utah, with recorded sightings peaking in July–August.

Occurrence map

Where American Pika has been recorded in Utah

300 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

300 Utah records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Wasatch National Forest 51
Lone Peak Wilderness 40
Mount Timpanogos Wilderness 38
Uinta National Forest 27
High Uintas Wilderness 18
Cedar Breaks National Monument 10
Twin Peaks Wilderness 10
Mount Olympus Wilderness 4

Protected places with the most american pika sightings, from the USGS Protected Areas Database plus named mountain ranges, good spots to look, not a full breakdown, so they don't sum to the total.

Where it's recorded in Utah

CountyRecords
Salt Lake County 521
Summit County 152
Utah County 120
Sevier County 95
Beaver County 89
Iron County 87
San Juan County 68
Sanpete County 63
Garfield County 59
Wayne County 51
Grand County 37
Uintah County 36
10 other counties 94

The complete county distribution, spread across 22 Utah counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

American pika reports are anchored in Utah’s high mountains. Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest holds by far the largest named cluster, while Ashley and Manti-La Sal national forests and Cedar Breaks extend the pattern into other cool, rocky uplands.

Reports surge in July and August, then fall quickly after September. That summer concentration fits the short season when high slopes are easiest to reach, so access matters alongside pika activity. NatureServe considers the species apparently secure in Utah, but report totals don’t measure its population.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

American pika perched on a talus rock with a mouthful of alpine wildflowers
Full species profile American Pika Ochotona princeps Size 19 cm7.5 in Weight 140 g4.9 oz Lifespan Up to 7 yr View the full profile

More mammals in Utah in the atlas

Data & sources

The data and visualizations on this page draw on these open sources:

  • GBIFCC-BY 4.0occurrence records behind the range map, elevation, and record counts
  • iNaturalistCC0 / CC-BY / CC-BY-SAobservations, photos, and audio recordings
  • NatureServe ExplorerCC-BYthe state conservation rank
  • IUCN Red Listattributed factthe global conservation status
  • USGS NASpublic domainnative / introduced status
  • Natural Earthpublic domainthe relief basemap
  • USFSpublic domainnational-forest boundaries
  • USGS Protected Areas Databasepublic domainthe named parks, forests, and refuges behind "notable places to look"