Species: Brachylagus idahoensis
Pygmy Rabbit
Species
Encyclopedia of Puget Sound
Classification
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Craniata
Class
Mammalia
Order
Lagomorpha
Family
Leporidae
Genus
Brachylagus
NatureServe
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).
Ecology and Life History
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
Conservation Status
NatureServe Global Status Rank
G4
Global Status Last Reviewed
2005-01-28
Global Status Last Changed
1998-11-02
Distribution
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)