Utah mammals

Botta's Pocket Gopher in Utah

Thomomys bottae

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.

Botta's Pocket Gopher (Thomomys bottae)Botta's pocket gopher (Thomomys bottae)DSC2910vvBotta's pocket gopher (Thomomys bottae)DSC2908vvBotta's pocket gopher peering from a burrow with a foreleg braced on the rimBotta's pocket gopher emerging from a fresh soil mound on a lawnBotta's pocket gopher peeking from a burrow mouth among dead leaves
Photo: Chuck Abbe · CC BY 2.0Botta's Pocket Gopher (Thomomys bottae)Photo: VJAnderson · CC BY-SA 4.0Botta's pocket gopher (Thomomys bottae)DSC2910vvPhoto: VJAnderson · CC BY-SA 4.0Botta's pocket gopher (Thomomys bottae)DSC2908vvPhoto: Jonathan Eisen · CC BY 4.0Botta's pocket gopher peering from a burrow with a foreleg braced on the rimPhoto: Nina S. Zhao · CC BY 4.0Botta's pocket gopher emerging from a fresh soil mound on a lawnPhoto: Don Wellmann · CC0Botta's pocket gopher peeking from a burrow mouth among dead leaves

Botta's Pocket Gopher in Utah, by the numbers

Common in Utah 15th most recorded of 141 mammals logged in Utah

1,613 occurrence records

Records from 2000–2026.

1,613 total records count every Utah occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300; the monthly chart covers the 1,600 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Botta's Pocket Gopher in Utah

Most sightings fall in May to June.

1,600 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
January20
February60
March48
April191
May373
June320
July137
August131
September152
October94
November40
December34

Monthly botta's pocket gopher occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Utah, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in Utah, with recorded sightings peaking in May–June.

Occurrence map

Where Botta's Pocket Gopher 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
Clear Lake State Wildlife Area 19
Arches National Park 15
Wasatch National Forest 14
Zion National Park 10
State Trust Lands South Block 10
The State of Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration 2160 5
State Trust Lands St. John Block 5
Uinta National Forest 2

Protected places with the most botta's pocket gopher 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
Tooele County 342
Salt Lake County 240
Millard County 212
Washington County 203
Utah County 159
Juab County 112
San Juan County 51
Beaver County 35
Sevier County 32
Wayne County 31
Grand County 29
Kane County 29
10 other counties 138

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.

Botta’s pocket gopher reports are anchored in eastern Utah around Bears Ears and the Book Cliffs, with Capitol Reef marking another stretch of workable soil. The animals stay mostly underground, so fresh mounds in valley floors and softer plateau ground are more revealing than the region’s bare cliffs.

The record pattern has separate lifts in February, April, and October rather than one long summer crest. Soil conditions and survey timing can change when burrowing signs are noticed, so those peaks aren’t a population ranking.

Occurrence data from GBIF.

Botta's Pocket Gopher (Thomomys bottae)
Full species profile Botta's Pocket Gopher Thomomys bottae Size 18–27 cm7.1–10.6 in Weight 160–250 g5.6–8.8 oz Lifespan Up to 6.1 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"