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 19th most recorded of 141 mammals logged in Utah

878 occurrence records
787 with iNaturalist photos
Jul 9, 2026 Last seen in Utah

Records from 2000–2026.

878 total records count every Utah occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300; the monthly chart covers the 847 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the American Pika in Utah

Most sightings fall in July to August.

847 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
January0
February0
March0
April0
May7
June67
July241
August358
September102
October56
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
Lone Peak Wilderness 41
Mount Timpanogos Wilderness 37
Wasatch National Forest 37
Uinta National Forest 20
High Uintas Wilderness 20
Twin Peaks Wilderness 10
Cedar Breaks National Monument 6
Mount Olympus Wilderness 3

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 509
Utah County 97
Summit County 80
Beaver County 26
Wayne County 23
Duchesne County 23
San Juan County 18
Sanpete County 15
Iron County 15
Wasatch County 12
Grand County 10
Uintah County 6
5 other counties 44

The complete county distribution, spread across 17 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 in other states

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"