Species: Brachylagus idahoensis

Pygmy Rabbit
Species
    Kingdom
    Animalia
    Phylum
    Craniata
    Class

    Mammalia

    Order

    Lagomorpha

    Family

    Leporidae

    Genus

    Brachylagus

    Classification
    Informal Taxonomy
    Animals, Vertebrates - Mammals - Other Mammals
    Formal Taxonomy
    Animalia - Craniata - Mammalia - Lagomorpha - Leporidae - Brachylagus - The Washington State (Columbia Basin) population is genetically distinct from the remainder of the species, and is believed to have been isolated for at least 10,00o years, perhaps much longer (USFWS 2001).
    Migration
    true - false - false - Small mean home ranges: in Washington males had mean home ranges of 0.7 hectares, females 0.3 hectares; however, a small number ranged much farther-- 95% of males had home ranges smaller than or equal to 20.2 hectares (Gahr 1993).
    Non-migrant
    true
    Locally Migrant
    false
    Food Comments
    Big sagebrush is the primary food source, particularly in winter, but grasses (particularly native bunch-grasses, such as Agropyron spp. and Poa spp.) and forbs also are eaten in spring and summer (Green and Flinders 1980, Lyman 1991).
    Reproduction Comments
    Breeding period extends from spring to early summer. Gestation lasts probably about 27-30 days (Green and Flinders 1980). Adult females produce 2-3 litters per year, with 4-8 young per litter (Reid 2006).
    Ecology Comments
    Predators include: weasels, coyotes, owls, and likely other carnivorous mammals and birds.
    Length
    29
    Weight
    458
    NatureServe Global Status Rank
    G4
    Global Status Last Reviewed
    2005-01-28
    Global Status Last Changed
    1998-11-02
    Conservation Status Map
    <img src="http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/GetMapGif?US.CA=S3&US.ID=S2&US.MT=S3&US.NV=S3&US.OR=S2&US.UT=S2&US.WA=S1&US.WY=S1" alt="Conservation Status Map" style="width: 475px; height: auto;" />
    Global Range
    FG - 20,000-2,500,000 square km (about 8000-1,000,000 square miles) - FG - Oregon (Verts and Carraway 1998) to east-central California, east to western Utah, western Wyoming (Campbell et al. 1982), and southwestern Montana; isolated population in east-central Washington. Range apparently decreased in eastern Washington during the last 3,000 years as the extent of sagebrush-dominated steppe diminished (Lyman 1991). Within its range the distribution is not continuous but patchy, primarily in areas of Great Basin big sagebrush (<i>Artemisia tridentata</i>)-dominated plains and alluvial fans where plants occur in tall and dense clumps, and the soil is relatively deep and friable (Orr 1940; Green and Flinders 1980a,b; Weiss and Verts 1984). Also reported to frequent areas in Idaho supporting greasewood (<i>Sarcobatus</i> spp.) (Davis 1939).
    Global Range Code
    FG
    Global Range Description
    20,000-2,500,000 square km (about 8000-1,000,000 square miles)
    ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.102656