The Himalayan pika (''Ochotona himalayana'') is a species of small

mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...

in the

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 ...

family (''Ochotonidae''). It is found at high altitudes in remote areas of Ladakh,

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

and possibly also in

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

. The

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

has listed this species as being of "

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...

Taxonomy

The Himalayan pika was first described by Feng in 1973. Before that it was thought to by synonymous with

Royle's pika Royle's pika (''Ochotona roylei''), also called the Himalayan mouse hare or hui shutu, is a species of pika. It is found in Bhutan, China, India, Nepal, and Pakistan. Description The most common pika species in the Himalayas, it has a length of ...

(''Ochotona roylei'') and it is found wholly within the range of that species. However, molecular studies by Yu et al. (2000) confirmed that it was a separate species. There are no recognised

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

Distribution and habitat

The Himalayan pika is native to the northern side of the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

in the

Tibet Autonomous Region The Tibet Autonomous Region or Xizang Autonomous Region, often shortened to Tibet or Xizang, is a Provinces of China, province-level Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China in Southwest China. I ...

in the

Mount Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow heig ...

area at altitudes of . There have been claims that it is present in Nepal on the southern side of the mountain range but this has not been authenticated. The typical habitat of this species is rocky places, screes, walls and cliffs in the vicinity of coniferous forests.

Behaviour

The Himalayan pika is a small mammal about long and very similar in appearance to Royle's pika. It is particularly active early in the morning and again at nightfall and feeds on various types of plant material. It produces litters of three or four young.

Status

The Himalayan pika lives in remote mountainous areas where it has little association with man. No particular threats have been identified and the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

list it as being of "

". The IUCN advocates that more research should be undertaken on its ecology and population status.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:pika, Himalayan

Himalayan pika The Himalayan pika (''Ochotona himalayana'') is a species of small mammal in the pika family (''Ochotonidae''). It is found at high altitudes in remote areas of Ladakh, Uttarakhand and possibly also in Nepal &Tibet. The IUCN has listed this spe ...

Fauna of Eastern Himalaya Fauna of Tibet

Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN