Food Habits
The primary food of pygmy rabbits is big sagebrush, which may comprise up to 99% of the food eaten in the winter. Grasses and forbs are also eaten from mid- to late summer. In Idaho, Gates and Eng found that shrubs contributed 85.2% (unweighted mean) of pygmy rabbit diets from July to December. Shrub use was lowest in August (73.1%) and highest in December (97.9%). Big sagebrush was the most important shrub in the July to December diet (54.2%), followed by rubber rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus nauseosus, 25.8%) and winterfat (Krascheninnikovia lananta, 4.6%). Grasses comprised 10% of the July to December diet and were consumed mostly during July and August. Indian ricegrass (Oryzopsis hymenoides) and needlegrass (Stipa spp.) were the most important grasses consumed. Forbs contributed 4.9% of the July to December diet.
In southeastern Idaho, Green and Flinders found that pygmy rabbits ate big sagebrush throughout the year but in lesser amounts in summer (51% of diet) than in winter (99% of diet). Other shrubs in the area were consumed infrequently. Grass and forb consumption was relatively constant throughout the summer (39% and 10% of diet respectively) and decreased to a trace amount through fall and winter. Thickspike wheatgrass, bluebunch wheatgrass (Pseudoroegneria spicata), and Sandberg bluegrass were preferred foods in the summer.
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