COMMON NAME(S): Pygmy Rabbit

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Brachylagus idahoensis

CLASSIFICATION: Phylum: Chordate

Class: Mammalia

Order: Lagomorpha

Family:Leporidae

DESCRIPTION: Length: 23.5 to 29.5 cm long, tail length of 15 to 24 mm

(9.25 to 11.65 inches, tail length 0.65 to 0.95 in.)

Weight: 240 to 500 grams, averaging 400 g

(.53 to 1.10 pounds, averaging .88 lbs)

General: Color varies from brown to dark grey with white around the margins of their short, round ears. Their ears and feet are densely covered in hair and they have a very short tail. Rabbits in general show some sexual size dimorphism; females are 1 to 10 percent larger than males.

RANGE: Pygmy rabbits live throughout most of the Great Basin area and, to a lesser extent, in nearby intermountain areas of the western United States. They are found from the southwest corner of Montana north and east through southern Idaho and southern Oregon. Distribution also extends south to northern Utah, northern Nevada, and Eastern California. There are also populations in east-central Washington and Wyoming that are genetically isolated.

HABITAT: Brachylagus idahoensis is found primarily in big sagebrush habitat and secondarily in communities dominated by rabbitbrush. More rarely they are found in areas of abundant greasewood. They have also been found in areas with the woody plants, antelope bitterbrush, threetip sagebrush, gray horsebrush, and prickly phlox. Grasses they are associated with include thick spike wheatgrass, palins reedgrass, sedges, prairie junegrass, and several others.

STATUS: General: Endangered

WA State: The last known wild populations in WA have disappeared. A captive breeding program hopes to provide animals for introduction and re-colonization of their historical range.

DIET: Pygmy rabbits are herbivorous grazers that eat mostly sagebrush. During winter months their diet consists of up to 98% sagebrush. In the summer and spring months their diet becomes more varied, including more grass and new foliage.

REPRODUCTION: The Pygmy Rabbit breeding season is short compared to other rabbits. Young are raised in nests inside burrows. Pygmy rabbits appear to synchronize breeding throughout the breeding season. Breeding time is determined by female readiness, which seems to be influenced by photoperiod and the condition of local food plants. Average litter size is 6. There is a maximum of three litters in a breeding season. Pygmy rabbits are capable of reproduction in the year following their birth.

LIFE SPAN: The lifespan of a Pygmy rabbit runs about 3-5 years. Pygmy rabbit lifespan is primarily limited by predation, which can claim up to 88% of all individuals including adults and juveniles. Common predatorss include weasels, coyote, badgers, bobcats, raptors, rats, owls, ravens/crows, badgers, and foxes. Maximum mortality occurs between birth and 5 weeks old.

BEHAVIOR: Pygmy rabbits are the only rabbit species in North America to dig their own burrows. Burrows are dug in deep loose soil and are extensive, with multiple, interconnecting chambers. They also use natural cavities and the burrows of other animals. Burrows have several entrances, usually at the bases of large sagebrush shrubs. Pygmy rabbits use a system of runways between food plants, both above ground in the summer and below the snow in winter. They move by scampering close to the ground and generally don't leap but are known to be very good sagebrush climbers.

SOURCES: Trek Zoological Department staff, 2006

Rohde, A. and A. Fraser. 2006. "Brachylagus idahoensis" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed September 14, 2006 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Brachylagus_idahoensis.html