Utah mammals

Vagrant Shrew in Utah

Sorex vagrans

Native to Utah S3 Vulnerable 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.

Vagrant shrew crossing bare sandy groundAI-generated image: Vagrant shrew foraging through low green ground cover. No additional license-safe photograph of this species exists. This image was generated with AI from verified reference material and reviewed by our editorial team for accuracyAI-generated image: Vagrant shrew paused in damp leaf litter. No additional license-safe photograph of this species exists. This image was generated with AI from verified reference material and reviewed by our editorial team for accuracy
Photo: Garth Harwood · CC BY 4.0Vagrant shrew crossing bare sandy groundAI-generated image No additional license-safe photograph of this species exists. This image was generated with AI from verified reference material and reviewed by our editorial team for accuracyVagrant shrew foraging through low green ground coverAI-generated image No additional license-safe photograph of this species exists. This image was generated with AI from verified reference material and reviewed by our editorial team for accuracyVagrant shrew paused in damp leaf litter

Vagrant Shrew in Utah, by the numbers

Common in Utah 41st most recorded of 141 mammals logged in Utah

484 occurrence records

Records from 2000–2026.

484 total records count every Utah occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300; the monthly chart covers the 478 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Vagrant Shrew in Utah

Most sightings fall in July to September.

478 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
January10
February11
March15
April51
May54
June40
July63
August84
September77
October38
November18
December17

Monthly vagrant shrew occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Utah, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

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

Occurrence map

Where Vagrant Shrew 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
State Trust Lands I-80 Block 36
Swan Creek State Wildlife Area 26
Uinta National Forest 12
Cache National Forest 7
Wasatch National Forest 4
Other State Agency (State Facilities, and others) 605 4
Mount Timpanogos Wilderness 1

Protected places with the most vagrant shrew 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 77
Juab County 67
Box Elder County 52
Utah County 46
Tooele County 45
Rich County 43
Weber County 42
Davis County 34
Cache County 29
Summit County 18
Duchesne County 11
Morgan County 4
7 other counties 16

The complete county distribution, spread across 19 Utah counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Vagrant shrew records connect cool, damp ground in the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache with wet pockets around Great Salt Lake. Grand Staircase–Escalante adds a southern reference point, where suitable cover is confined to springs, streams, and sheltered canyon bottoms rather than the dry uplands around them.

Reports rise through summer and reach their highest monthly total in August, then remain elevated in September. Easier field access and different conditions across Utah’s elevations help shape that pattern, so it doesn’t define the shrew’s true season. NatureServe ranks the species vulnerable in Utah.

Occurrence data from GBIF.

Vagrant shrew crossing bare sandy ground
Full species profile Vagrant Shrew Sorex vagrans Size 6.8 cm2.7 in Weight 4–8 g0.1–0.3 oz Lifespan Up to 2.1 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"