The 12 mapped black-rat records make this an uncommon entry in Utah’s occurrence data, not a count of the rats living in the state. Only two are research-grade iNaturalist observations, while the full set includes GBIF records, so the April cluster of three reports is better read as collection history than evidence of a spring population surge.
Black rats are introduced commensals that concentrate around buildings, stored food, transport corridors, and other human-made shelter. They are agile climbers and often use roofs, rafters, and trees, a different niche from the more ground-oriented Norway rat. Those habits make developed sites a more plausible context for Utah records than the Great Salt Lake or wildlife-refuge labels listed as broad geographic anchors.
NatureServe assigns the black rat SNA in Utah because a conservation rank is not applicable to this non-native species. The scattered records confirm occasional detection, but they do not establish a self-sustaining statewide population or measure abundance.
Full species profile
