The pygmy rabbit (Brachylagus idahoensis) is the smallest leporid in North America and is endemic to sagebrush-steppe habitats of the Great Basin (Jansen 1946; Green and Flinders 1980). Brachylagus idahoensis is an extreme habitat specialist that relies exclusively on big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) for food and for protection from predators and thermal extremes; it is also the only native rabbit species that constructs extensive burrow systems (Green and Flinders 1980; Katzner 1994). Because of their dependence on this vegetation type, populations of B. idahoensis are vulnerable to habitat fragmentation, overgrazing, and sagebrush eradication (Holecheck 1981; Dobler and Dixon 1990). Although knowledge of B. idahoensis populations [...]
