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Explore Utah
Utah wildlife and plants
The animals and plants of Utah's mountain forests, red-rock desert, sagebrush valleys and Great Salt Lake wetlands.
Get to know Utah through the animals and plants that live here. Browse the 63 profiles by habitat or region, compare a species' seasonal habits, and follow the linked agency and university sources when you want to learn more. Start with the landscape you expect to visit, then narrow the list to wildlife or plants.
This is an introduction, not a complete inventory or a field-identification key. A region label describes the range or location a profile's sources support; it does not promise a sighting. Seasonal notes describe general patterns, and we don't publish exact sites for nests, roosts, colonies or rare plants. Check the land manager's current access information separately before a trip.
Choose a way in
I saw something and want to learn about it.Search a common or scientific name below. If you don't know the name, start with a broad group and habitat, then compare the profile's details rather than relying on color alone.
I'm planning a nature walk.Choose a region and habitat, and read a few profiles before you leave. Keep expectations flexible: a quiet walk is still a chance to notice plants, tracks and the way habitats connect.
I'm visiting with children or a new observer.Pick one plant and one animal to learn about. Make the goal careful observation, not finding every species on a checklist.
Learn the landscape
A seasonal comparison makes a familiar landscape easier to read. At Arches, rainfall strongly shapes the wildflower display; at Cedar Breaks, high meadows bloom through a short summer. Those are local examples of why one statewide "best week" would mislead. Try the mountain and desert habitats, then the spring and summer pages.
Each profile answers three separate questions: what the organism is, what habitat or range its sources support, and what a visitor can responsibly observe. Conservation labels are shown with their category, scope and date, because a federal listing, a state priority list and a native-or-introduced label answer different questions.
File photo: Mule deer beside and crossing a paved road at Bryce Canyon (2016-09-19 01:15). Photo: Donald Hobern from Copenhagen, Denmark · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
File photo: Mule deer beside and crossing a paved road at Bryce Canyon (2016-09-19 01:15). Photo: Donald Hobern from Copenhagen, Denmark · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Found across Utah, from high mountains to city neighborhoods, and named for its large, mule-like ears.
Odocoileus hemionus
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File photo: Cougars recorded at night by a trail camera in Zion National Park (2008-07-06 01:27). Photo: Zion National Park · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
File photo: Cougars recorded at night by a trail camera in Zion National Park (2008-07-06 01:27). Photo: Zion National Park · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Also called mountain lion or puma, and found wherever Utah's deer are.
Puma concolor
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File photo: Gopher snake, Arches National Park archive, May 2017. One of Utah’s nonvenomous snake species. Photo: Marty Tow / National Park Service · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
File photo: Gopher snake, Arches National Park archive, May 2017. One of Utah’s nonvenomous snake species. Photo: Marty Tow / National Park Service · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
The maple behind the red and orange on Utah's fall hillsides.
Acer grandidentatum
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File photo: Leafy Gambel oak branches in a canyon — Johnson Lakes Canyon, Kane County, May 2016. Photo: Andrey Zharkikh from Salt Lake City, USA · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
File photo: Leafy Gambel oak branches in a canyon — Johnson Lakes Canyon, Kane County, May 2016. Photo: Andrey Zharkikh from Salt Lake City, USA · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
A foundational shrub of Utah's open country, with small gray-green leaves and an outsized role in wildlife habitat.
Artemisia tridentata
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File photo: Yellow-flowering rubber rabbitbrush above the Jordan River — Jordan River Parkway near Salt Lake City, September 2004. Photo: Cory Maylett · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
File photo: Yellow-flowering rubber rabbitbrush above the Jordan River — Jordan River Parkway near Salt Lake City, September 2004. Photo: Cory Maylett · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
A flexible-stemmed native shrub whose late-season yellow flowers extend feeding opportunities for pollinators.
Ericameria nauseosa
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File photo: A sego lily flower on a slender stalk above low desert vegetation — Johnson Lakes Canyon, Kane County, May 2016. Photo: Andrey Zharkikh from Salt Lake City, USA · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
File photo: A sego lily flower on a slender stalk above low desert vegetation — Johnson Lakes Canyon, Kane County, May 2016. Photo: Andrey Zharkikh from Salt Lake City, USA · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
