In English, pika is translated as “whistling hare.”” Most pikas use whistling sounds to communicate with each other. Afghan pikas are unique in that they do not have a well developed larynx, used to make vocalizations. This is not to say that they make no noise, but reports of their vocalizations are not found in the literature.
Like other mammals, Afghan pikas are expected to use chemical cues extensively in communication and perception as well.
Communication Channels: acoustic ; chemical
Other Communication Modes: scent marks
Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
Ochotona rufescens is listed as lower risk on the IUCN list.
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: no special status
State of Michigan List: no special status
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern
Afghan pikas are considered agricultural pests on crops and orchards in some parts of their range.
Negative Impacts: crop pest
Afghan pikas are important members of their native ecosystems.
Afghan pikas impact vegetation communities throughout their range. They are also likely to be important prey animals for birds of prey.
Afghan pikas eat thistles and other xeric plants. They make hay piles to allow gathered plants to dry. Once dried, the hay is then cached away in burrows. Caches are typically restocked twice a year. This occurs once during the spring and once in the fall. Afghan pikas also steal food and bedding material from other burrows.
Plant Foods: leaves; wood, bark, or stems; seeds, grains, and nuts
Foraging Behavior: stores or caches food
Primary Diet: herbivore (Folivore )
Ochotona rufescens is distributed across mountainous middle Asia, from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran to Armenia and SW Turkmenistan.
Biogeographic Regions: palearctic (Native )
Afghan pikas are found in mountainous areas, often on talus slopes or in other areas with rocks. They also construct burrows in dry soils.
Habitat Regions: temperate ; terrestrial
Terrestrial Biomes: savanna or grassland ; mountains
There are no reports on the lifespan of O. rufescens. Other Species in the genus Ochotona have been reported to live up to almost eight years. However, typically, pikas live for only a few years in the wild and many pikas do not live through their first winter.
Average length and weight of O. rufescens is not reported but members of Ochotona weigh 125 to 400 g. Males and females are monomorphic. During the summer, they have cream colored collars that are outlined with a russet pelage. Afghan pikas have small heads with small round ears. They have very short legs with dense fur covering the bottoms of their paws for added insulation.
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; homoiothermic; bilateral symmetry
Sexual Dimorphism: sexes alike
No report on predators is available. Given their small body size, it is likely that Afghan pikas are preyed on by terrestrial carnivores and raptors.
Mating systems vary with habitat quality between populations. Monogamy and polygyny have been observed in this species.
Mating System: monogamous ; polygynous
Ochotona rufescens has a high rate of reproduction. Up to eleven young may be produced in one litter and females can have up to five litters in extended breeding seasons. Gestation periods for O. rufescens are not reported. Other species of pika generally have a thirty day gestation period. It also takes an average of thirty days for a mother pika to wean her young.
Breeding interval: Afghan pikas breed up to five times a year.
Breeding season: Afghan pikas breed during the warm months.
Range number of offspring: 1 to 11.
Average number of offspring: 9.
Average gestation period: 30 days.
Average weaning age: 30 days.
Average time to independence: 30 days.
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 4 to 5 weeks.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 1 years.
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; fertilization ; viviparous
At birth, pikas are reported to weigh roughly 9 g. They have altricial young. Parental care consists of approximately 30 days of feeding and protection in the burrow before they are forced to disperse and fend for themselves.
Parental Investment: altricial ; pre-fertilization (Provisioning, Protecting: Female); pre-hatching/birth (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female); pre-weaning/fledging (Provisioning: Female, Protecting)
The Afghan pika (Ochotona rufescens) is a species of small mammal in the pika family, Ochotonidae.[2] It is found in Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and Turkmenistan and the IUCN lists it as being of "least concern".[1]
The Afghan pika was first described by John Edward Gray in 1842, the type locality being "India, Cabul, Rocky Hills near Baker Tomb at about 6000 or 8000 feet [ca. 1829 or 2438 m] elevation", (probably referring to Kabul in Afghanistan). Three subspecies are recognised, Ochotona r. rufescens, Ochotona r. regina and Ochotona r. shukurovoi.[2]
The Afghan pika is a lagomorph, a small mammal related to rabbits and hares, and has a small head with rounded ears, short, densely furred legs and furred soles to the feet. The fur is reddish-brown with a cream-coloured collar round the neck and paler underparts.[3]
The Afghan pika occurs in mountainous regions of Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and southwestern Turkmenistan at altitudes between 1,900 and 3,500 metres (6,200 and 11,500 ft). It is found in rocky desert habitats where vegetation cover is sparse and covers less than 60% of the ground, also in juniper woodland.[1]
The Afghan pika lives in a burrow system. It is diurnal, with peak activity during the morning.[4] It feeds on plant material including Ephedra, Artemisia and thistles. Some stems and leaves are cut into lengths and dried in the open air before being stored in the burrow. The breeding season lasts from March to September during which time a female may have five litters averaging six offspring.[1] Juveniles born early in the season mature fast enough to have young themselves the same year.[1]
The Afghan pika has a wide range and the population appears to be steady. Although it typically lives in rocky semi-desert habitat, it is able to adapt to living at the edge of cultivated land, in orchards and even in field walls and the walls of houses made of adobe. In some regions it is considered a pest as it feeds on crops and damages the bark of fruit trees, and in these areas it may be persecuted. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has listed the animal as being of "least concern" but an isolated population on the Small Balkhan Ridge may be endangered. The animal has been domesticated and used in research, particularly in France and Japan.[1]
A young Afghan pika The Afghan pika (Ochotona rufescens) is a species of small mammal in the pika family, Ochotonidae. It is found in Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and Turkmenistan and the IUCN lists it as being of "least concern".
