Nubra Pika

About this species

Diet

A generalist herbivore, feeding on honeysuckle, willow and Caragana

Habitat

Dense, thorny vegetation, avoiding rocky talus; simple burrows

Range

Himalaya, from Ladakh through Tibet and Nepal to Bhutan

The Nubra pika is a small, diurnal pika whose coat changes colour with season and region, from grey to brownish red. In summer it is pale grey to brownish red with black hairs mixed in, and in winter the fur is longer and a more uniform grey. The ears are largely black with white edges and a pale patch on the back, and the tail is very short. It is named for the Nubra valley in Ladakh, where it was first found (Wikipedia, general species account).

It is widely distributed across the Himalaya, from Ladakh through the Tibet Autonomous Region and Nepal, and in Bhutan and Pakistan. It is a burrowing species that avoids rocky talus and lives in areas of dense vegetation, building simple burrows where the vegetation is particularly thick and thorny. It is a generalist herbivore that feeds on honeysuckle, willow and Caragana, and it shares its range with the Sikkim pika and the large-eared pika, a non-burrowing species (Wikipedia, general species account).

Description: Wildlife of India guide, Wildlife of Everywhere (wildlifeofeverywhere.com); general species information paraphrased from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)