Utah mammals

Western Water Shrew in Utah

Sorex navigator

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

NE – Not Evaluated

Not yet assessed against IUCN Red List criteria.

Western water shrew at the grassy edge of a streamAI-generated image: Western water shrew foraging along wet streamside stones. 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: Western water shrew crouched on a wet rock above dark water. 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: velodrome · CC BY 4.0Western water shrew at the grassy edge of a streamAI-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 accuracyWestern water shrew foraging along wet streamside stonesAI-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 accuracyWestern water shrew crouched on a wet rock above dark water

Western Water Shrew in Utah, by the numbers

Occasional in Utah 83rd most recorded of 141 mammals logged in Utah

50 occurrence records
2 with iNaturalist photos
Jun 9, 2022 Last seen in Utah

Records from 2000–2026.

When to look for the Western Water Shrew in Utah

Most sightings fall in July to August.

50 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
January1
February0
March0
April0
May0
June1
July21
August14
September11
October2
November0
December0

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

Seasonality

Year-round in Utah, with recorded sightings peaking in July–August.

Occurrence map

Where Western Water Shrew has been recorded in Utah

50 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

50 Utah records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Cache National Forest 1

Protected places with the most western water 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
Summit County 19
Box Elder County 8
Wayne County 6
Garfield County 6
Emery County 4
Cache County 2
Wasatch County 1
Grand County 1
San Juan County 1
Duchesne County 1
Weber County 1

The complete county distribution, spread across 11 Utah counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Western water shrew reports follow Utah’s wet margins within much larger landscapes. Summit County leads with 19, drawing on the cool mountain streams of Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest, while Box Elder, Wayne and Garfield counties point to isolated waterways and marsh edges in drier country.

Records climb sharply to their highest point in July, then taper through August and September before dropping off in October. Summer access to streams and fieldwork timing likely strengthen that pattern. Quiet winter months don’t prove the shrew is absent from suitable watercourses.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Western water shrew at the grassy edge of a stream
Full species profile Western Water Shrew Sorex navigator Size 13–17 cm5.1–6.7 in Weight 13 g0.5 oz Lifespan Up to 1.5 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"