FWS Focus

Overview

Characteristics
Overview

With adults weighing less than one pound, the pygmy rabbit is the smallest species of rabbit in North America. In Washington Stateโ€™s Columbia Basin, the remaining pygmy rabbit population is endangered and faces compounding threats. The fracturing of its shrub-steppe home in Central Washington, an increasing occurrence of wildfire, and a new form of rabbit hemorrhagic disease all push the species toward extinction in the region.

See a video about recovery efforts for the Columbia basin pygmy rabbit 

Scientific Name

Brachylagus idahoensis
Common Name
Pygmy Rabbit
FWS Category
Mammals
Kingdom

Location in Taxonomic Tree

Identification Numbers

TSN:

Characteristics

Characteristic category

Habitat

Characteristics
Habitat

Pygmy rabbits are typically found in areas that include tall, dense stands of sagebrush sagebrush
The western United Statesโ€™ sagebrush country encompasses over 175 million acres of public and private lands. The sagebrush landscape provides many benefits to our rural economies and communities, and it serves as crucial habitat for a diversity of wildlife, including the iconic greater sage-grouse and over 350 other species.

Learn more about sagebrush
(Artemisia spp.). This sagebrush sea acts as a forest in miniature for these tiny rabbits, providing both shelter and food. This species digs its own burrows, which are typically found in deep, loose soils.  However, pygmy rabbits occasionally do make use of burrows abandoned by other species, such as the yellow-bellied marmot.

Given the pygmy rabbitsโ€™ high dependence on sagebrush for food and shelter, large-scale loss and fragmentation of native shrub-steppe habitat has played a primary role in the long-term decline of the Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit.

Grassland

Land on which the natural dominant plant forms are grasses and forbs.

Characteristic category

Food

Characteristics
Food

While pygmy rabbits eat mostly sagebrush sagebrush
The western United Statesโ€™ sagebrush country encompasses over 175 million acres of public and private lands. The sagebrush landscape provides many benefits to our rural economies and communities, and it serves as crucial habitat for a diversity of wildlife, including the iconic greater sage-grouse and over 350 other species.

Learn more about sagebrush
in the winter months, they seek out a more varied diet in the spring and summer months by adding grasses, particularly native bunchgrasses.

Characteristic category

Physical Characteristics

Characteristics
Size & Shape

Adults range between 9.3 and 11.6 inches in length and weigh less than a pound, making it the smallest rabbit in North America. Fur color varies from brown to dark grey with white around the margins of their short, round ears. They are distinguishable from other Leporids by their small size, short ears, small hind legs and lack of white on their tail.

Characteristic category

Life Cycle

Characteristics
Life Cycle

Breeding for the Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit occurs from February through July. Females may have up to three litters per year and average six young per litter. Pregnant females dig secret, relatively shallow burrows, known as natal burrows. They begin to dig and supply nesting material to these burrows several days prior to giving birth, and may give birth and nurse young in the runway to the burrowโ€™s entrance. After nursing, the young return to the burrow and the female fills the burrow entrance with loose soil to disguise the immediate area and avoid detection.

Pygmy rabbits are preyed upon by weasels, coyotes, badgers, bobcats, birds of prey, owls, foxes and sometimes humans, who sometimes have difficulty distinguishing from other rabbit species. Predation is the primary cause of mortality among both adults and juveniles, and can be as high as 50 percent in the first five weeks of life.

Geography

Characteristics
Range

The pygmy rabbitโ€™s historical range includes portions of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, California, Nevada and Utah.

The Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit in Washington appears to have become genetically isolated at least 10,000 years ago. There is little information available regarding the historic distribution and abundance of pygmy rabbits in Washington. Records indicate that during the first half of the 1900s, they probably occurred in Douglas, Grant, Lincoln, Adams and Benton counties. Between 1987 and 1988, five small colonies of pygmy rabbits were found in southern Douglas County. A sixth colony was discovered in 1997 in Grant County.

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Timeline

Explore the information available for this taxon's timeline. You can select an event on the timeline to view more information, or cycle through the content available in the carousel below.

23 Items

Listing

Listing

Listing

Listing

Notice

Listing

Notice

Listing

Listing

Safe Harbor Agreement

Permit

Recovery Plan

Listing

Permit

Five Year Review

Listing

Habitat Conservation Plan

Recovery Plan

Recovery Plan

Five Year Review

Recovery Plan

Five Year Review

Listing

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Listing

Nov 21, 1991

Nov 21, 1991 Listing
ETWP; Animal Candidate Review for Listing as Endangered or Threatened Species; 56 FR 58804 58836
  • Publication type: CNOR
Item 1

Listing

Nov 15, 1994

Nov 15, 1994 Listing
ETWP; Animal Candidate Review for Listing as Endangered or Threatened Species.
  • Publication type: CNOR
Item 2

Listing

Nov 30, 2001

Nov 30, 2001 Listing (Endangered)
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Emergency Rule To List the Columbia Basin Distinct Poโ€ฆ
  • Publication type: Emergency
Item 3

Listing

Nov 30, 2001

Nov 30, 2001 Listing (Endangered)
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Proposed Rule To List the Columbia Basin Distinct Popโ€ฆ
  • Publication type: Proposed
Item 4

Notice

Feb 7, 2002

Feb 7, 2002 Notice
ETWP; Reopening of the Comment Period and Announcement of a Public Meeting for the Proposed Rule Toโ€ฆ
  • Publication type: Comment Period Reopening
Item 5

Listing

Jun 13, 2002

Jun 13, 2002 Listing
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Review of Species That Are Candidates or Proposed forโ€ฆ
  • Publication type: CNOR
Item 6

Notice

Jul 17, 2002

Jul 17, 2002 Notice
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Reopening of the Comment Period on the Proposed Listiโ€ฆ
  • Publication type: Comment Period Reopening
Item 7

Listing

Mar 5, 2003

Mar 5, 2003 Listing (Endangered)
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Final Rule to List the Columbia Basin Distinct Populaโ€ฆ
  • Publication type: Final
Item 8

Listing

May 20, 2005

May 20, 2005 Listing (Not Substantial)
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 90-Day Finding on a Petition To List the Pygmy Rabbitโ€ฆ
  • Publication type: 90 day petition finding
Item 9

Safe Harbor Agreement

Sep 7, 2006

Sep 7, 2006 Safe Harbor Agreement (Document Availability (non-FR))
Draft Template Safe Harbor Agreement, Draft Environmental Assessment, and Receipt of Applications foโ€ฆ
  • Publication type: Draft
Item 10

Permit

Apr 25, 2007

Apr 25, 2007 Permit (Issued)
Receipt of Applications for Endangered Species Act Enhancement of Survival Permits Developed in Accoโ€ฆ
  • Publication type: SHA, HCP, CCAA
Item 11

Recovery Plan

Sep 7, 2007

Sep 7, 2007 Recovery Plan (Document Availability (non-FR))
Draft Recovery Plan for Columbia Basin Distinct Population Segment of the Pygmy Rabbit (Brachylagusโ€ฆ
  • Publication type: Draft
Item 12

Listing

Jan 8, 2008

Jan 8, 2008 Listing (Substantial)
90-Day Finding on a Petition To List the Pygmy Rabbit (Brachylagus idahoensis) as Threatened or Endaโ€ฆ
  • Publication type: 90 day petition finding
Item 13

Permit

Oct 8, 2008

Oct 8, 2008 Permit (Issued)
Receipt of an Application for an Enhancement of Survival Permit for the Columbia Basin Pygmy Rabbit
  • Publication type: SHA, HCP, CCAA
Item 14

Five Year Review

Apr 8, 2010

Apr 8, 2010 Five Year Review (Information Solicitation)
5-Year Status Reviews of 69 Species in Idaho, Washington, Hawaii, Guam, and the Commonwealth of theโ€ฆ
  • Publication type: Notice
Item 15

Listing

Sep 30, 2010

Sep 30, 2010 Listing (Not Warranted)
12-Month Finding on a Petition to List the Pygmy Rabbit as Endangered or Threatened; Proposed Rule
  • Publication type: 12m petition finding
Item 16

Habitat Conservation Plan

Oct 1, 2010

Oct 1, 2010 Habitat Conservation Plan (Document Availability (non-FR))
Proposed Issuance of Incidental Take Permits to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife for Sโ€ฆ
  • Publication type: Draft
Item 17

Recovery Plan

Jun 29, 2011

Jun 29, 2011 Recovery Plan (Document Availability (non-FR))
Amendment to the Draft Recovery Plan for the Columbia Basin Distinct Population Segment of the Pygmyโ€ฆ
  • Publication type: Draft
Item 18

Recovery Plan

Jan 23, 2013

Jan 23, 2013 Recovery Plan (Document Availability (non-FR))
NOA: Recovery Plan for the Columbia Basin Distinct Population Segment of the Pygmy Rabbit (Brachylagโ€ฆ
  • Publication type: Final
Item 19

Five Year Review

Jan 22, 2018

Jan 22, 2018 Five Year Review (Information Solicitation)
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Initiation of 5-Year Status Reviews for 18 Species iโ€ฆ
  • Publication type: Notice
Item 20

Recovery Plan

Jan 31, 2019

Jan 31, 2019 Recovery Plan (Document Availability (non-FR))
26 Draft Recovery Plan Amendments for 42 Species Across the United States
  • Publication type: Draft
Item 21

Five Year Review

Mar 23, 2023

Mar 23, 2023 Five Year Review (Information Solicitation)
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Initiation of 5-Year Status Reviews for 133 Species iโ€ฆ
  • Publication type: Notice
Item 22

Listing

Jan 25, 2024

Jan 25, 2024 Listing (Substantial)
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 90-Day Findings for 10 Species
  • Publication type: 90 day petition finding
Item 23