Utah mammals

White-tailed Antelope Squirrel in Utah

Ammospermophilus leucurus

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.

White-tailed antelope squirrel showing the pale flank stripe and white tail undersideWhite-tailed antelope squirrel perched on desert woodWhite-tailed antelope squirrel on red desert rockWhite-tailed antelope squirrel in rocky desert wash habitatWhite-tailed antelope squirrel on a Joshua tree branch
Photo: Renee Grayson from Las Vegas, USA · CC BY 2.0White-tailed antelope squirrel showing the pale flank stripe and white tail undersidePhoto: VJAnderson · CC BY-SA 4.0White-tailed antelope squirrel perched on desert woodPhoto: Renee Grayson from Las Vegas, USA · CC BY 2.0White-tailed antelope squirrel on red desert rockPhoto: Marshal Hedin from San Diego · CC BY 2.0White-tailed antelope squirrel in rocky desert wash habitatPhoto: Joshua Tree National Park · Public domainWhite-tailed antelope squirrel on a Joshua tree branch

White-tailed Antelope Squirrel in Utah, by the numbers

Common in Utah 29th most recorded of 141 mammals logged in Utah

1,525 occurrence records
678 with iNaturalist photos
Jul 4, 2026 Last seen in Utah

Records from 2000–2026.

1,525 total records count every Utah occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300; the monthly chart covers the 1,511 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the White-tailed Antelope Squirrel in Utah

Most sightings fall in May to August.

1,511 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
January56
February60
March81
April145
May259
June213
July159
August185
September130
October123
November70
December30

Monthly white-tailed antelope squirrel occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Utah, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

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

Occurrence map

Where White-tailed Antelope Squirrel 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
Capitol Reef National Park 79
Arches National Park 70
Red Cliffs National Monument 47
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area 27
Canyonlands National Park 23
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument 23
Zion National Park 17
Dead Horse Point State Park 12

Protected places with the most white-tailed antelope squirrel 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
Washington County 380
Grand County 242
Emery County 129
Wayne County 116
San Juan County 115
Garfield County 95
Juab County 95
Tooele County 90
Kane County 63
Millard County 56
Uintah County 26
Carbon County 20
9 other counties 98

The complete county distribution, spread across 21 Utah counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

White-tailed antelope squirrel reports spread across Utah’s southern desert parks, from Snow Canyon in the southwest to Arches, Hovenweep, and Dead Horse Point in the southeast. That wide arc follows hot, open shrubland and rocky desert rather than the state’s cooler mountain forests.

Reports climb from April into a May peak and stay strong through summer. The long warm-season pattern may reflect both squirrel activity and heavy visitor traffic at these parks. It shows when encounters were recorded, not where the most squirrels live.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

White-tailed antelope squirrel showing the pale flank stripe and white tail underside
Full species profile White-tailed Antelope Squirrel Ammospermophilus leucurus Size 18.8–23.9 cm7.4–9.4 in Weight 97 g3.4 oz Lifespan 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"