Royle's pika (''Ochotona roylei''), also called the Himalayan mouse hare or hui shutu, is a species of

pika A pika ( or ; archaically spelled pica) is a small, mountain-dwelling mammal found in Asia and North America. With short limbs, very round body, an even coat of fur, and no external tail, they resemble their close relative, the rabbit, but wi ...

. It is found in

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainous ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, India, Nepal, and Pakistan.

Description

The most common

species in the Himalayas, it has a length of 17-22 centimeters. Royle's pika has a slightly arched head, with a rufous-grey body and chestnut-colored head, as well as sparse hair in front of its ears.

Distribution and habitat

This is the most common pika species in the Himalayas, and can be confused with the

sympatric In biology, two related species or populations are considered sympatric when they exist in the same geographic area and thus frequently encounter one another. An initially interbreeding population that splits into two or more distinct species sh ...

large-eared pika. These species are mostly seen in the open rocky mountain edges or slopes, or on ground covered with conifer trees, such as pine, deodar and

rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nati ...

forests. Royle's pika are a

crepuscular In zoology, a crepuscular animal is one that is active primarily during the twilight period, being matutinal, vespertine, or both. This is distinguished from diurnal and nocturnal behavior, where an animal is active during the hours of daylig ...

foraging species, as they tend to be inactive during midday hours. Reduction of activity during the midday is also contributed to increasing temperatures, which causes heat stress on the species.Bhattacharyya, S., Adhikari, B. S., & Rawat, G. S. (2014). "Influence of microclimate on the activity of Royle's pika in the Western Himalaya", India. ''Zoological Studies'', 53(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40555-014-0073-8 During monsoon season, foraging is encouraged due to greater food availability. The species has also been found near human habitation. It does not make its own nest; rather, it takes narrow creeks and existing burrow systems as its nest, filling it with hay piles and pine leaves. It also uses the rocky areas on the mountains to take refuge and escape from predators.

Conservation status

Though their conservation status according to IUCN Red List is "Least Concern", habitat loss and human habitation in hilly areas are the indirect cause of conservation threats towards them.

References

*Bhattacharyya, Sabuji (December 12, 2018). "Noninvasive sampling reveals population genetic structure in the Royle's pika,Ochotona roylei, in the western Himalaya". Ecology and Evolution. 9 (1). Retrieved October 15, 2020. *Smith, A.T.; Boyer, A.F. (2008). "Ochotona roylei". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008. Retrieved 10 April 2009. Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is of least concern. *Lissovsky, A.A. 2014. Taxonomic revision of pikas Ochotona (Lagomorpha, Mammalia) at the species level. Mammalia 78(2): 199–216. {{Taxonbar, from=Q1762352 Pikas Mammals of Asia Mammals of Nepal Mammals of Pakistan Mammals described in 1839 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot