Utah mammals

Ord's Kangaroo Rat in Utah

Dipodomys ordii

Native to Utah S5 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.

Ord's kangaroo rat standing in profile, showing its huge hind feet and long tufted tailOrd's kangaroo rat pausing alert at night, whiskers and dark eye lit by flashOrd's kangaroo rat sitting upright in sandy scrub habitatOrd's kangaroo rat among low shrubs on open sandOrd's kangaroo rat standing on gravel, showing its big ears and hind feet
Photo: ecovore · CC BY 4.0Ord's kangaroo rat standing in profile, showing its huge hind feet and long tufted tailPhoto: Juan Cruzado Cortés · CC BY 4.0Ord's kangaroo rat pausing alert at night, whiskers and dark eye lit by flashPhoto: Dominic Alianelli · CC0Ord's kangaroo rat sitting upright in sandy scrub habitatPhoto: Without Borders · CC0Ord's kangaroo rat among low shrubs on open sandPhoto: CK2AZ · CC BY 4.0Ord's kangaroo rat standing on gravel, showing its big ears and hind feet

Ord's Kangaroo Rat in Utah, by the numbers

Common in Utah 3rd most recorded of 141 mammals logged in Utah

4,069 occurrence records
62 with iNaturalist photos
Jul 9, 2026 Last seen in Utah

Records from 2000–2026.

4,069 total records count every Utah occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300; the monthly chart covers the 4,068 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Ord's Kangaroo Rat in Utah

Most sightings fall in April to June.

4,068 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
January15
February31
March73
April615
May749
June832
July372
August420
September586
October300
November75
December0

Monthly ord's kangaroo rat occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Utah, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in Utah, with recorded sightings peaking in April–June, with a smaller rise in September.

Occurrence map

Where Ord's Kangaroo Rat 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
The State of Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration 1552 581
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument 148
Bears Ears National Monument 18
Arches National Park 8
State Trust Lands I-80 Block 7
State Trust Lands Oak City Block 6
The State of Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration 1229 6
Cedar Mountain Wilderness Area 6

Protected places with the most ord's kangaroo rat 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
San Juan County 1,794
Tooele County 1,731
Emery County 146
Garfield County 118
Kane County 82
Juab County 69
Millard County 35
Grand County 24
Wasatch County 10
Uintah County 10
Wayne County 8
Summit County 8
10 other counties 34

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.

Utah’s Ord’s kangaroo rat reports come from two sandy strongholds: San Juan County on the Colorado Plateau, with 1,794, and Tooele County in the west desert, with 1,731. Among parks and monuments, Grand Staircase-Escalante has the strongest cluster, with 148 records, and smaller groups turn up around Bears Ears and Arches. Those settings offer loose ground for burrows beside broad areas of rock where digging isn’t possible.

Reports rise sharply from April through June and again in September. That pattern may reflect warm nights and field activity as well as the animal itself, so it doesn’t show how many kangaroo rats live there.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Ord's kangaroo rat standing in profile, showing its huge hind feet and long tufted tail
Full species profile Ord's Kangaroo Rat Dipodomys ordii Size 21–36.5 cm8.3–14.4 in Weight 50 g1.8 oz Lifespan Up to 9.9 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"