Keshav Jeev-Van FoundationHarmony in Diversity
Join the Biodiversity CircleExplore Our Programmes

Mammal

Himalayan Pika

Ochotona roylii

IUCN: Least Concern
Himalayan Pika (Ochotona roylii) photographed by Devendra Bhardwaj

Image: Devendra Bhardwaj · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0 · Uttarakhand · Resized

Scientific name
Ochotona roylii
Family
Ochotonidae, order Lagomorpha
Group
Mammal
Conservation status
Least Concern

A small, round-eared 'rock rabbit' that stores hay.

  • Spot it Small, grey-brown, rounded ears and no visible tail.
  • Home Rocky mountain slopes.
  • Food web Eats grasses and herbs and stores hay; foxes and eagles prey on it.
  • Why it matters Its hay piles and burrows shape mountain slopes, and it is vital food for foxes, weasels and eagles.

Read more: Royle's pika on Wikipedia

Sources and credits

Records and field notes

  • IndiaDevendra Bhardwaj has 1 verified record of this species on iNaturalist in 2011, in Uttarakhand.[20]

Sources

  1. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (species pages linked on each entry) (database). Global conservation status. Every species page was opened.
  2. Devendra Bhardwaj. iNaturalist observations and notes, with place and date (inaturalist.org/people/devendrabhardwaj) (field record). The observer's own dated records and notes, with places. Statements in his notes are his own and were not independently checked by KJVF.
  3. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy and GBIF species data (family, order, Hindi names, IUCN category) (database). Open biodiversity data. Used for classification, Hindi common names and the IUCN category where one is given.
  4. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (opening lines of each species article, CC BY-SA 4.0). The link on each entry goes to the article (reference). Not peer reviewed. Only the opening description is used, and statements about origin or medicinal use are left out.
  5. Short introductions and key points written with AI help (Google Gemini and Claude) and checked against GBIF where possible (reference). AI-assisted text for general readers. Please check important details before relying on them.

The tag before each record shows the place it was checked for.

More in Wild animals