Why It Matters
The pygmy rabbit — the world’s smallest lagomorph — depends almost entirely on sagebrush for both food and shelter, making it one of the most vulnerable species in the American West. As sagebrush ecosystems across Wyoming, Idaho, and the broader Mountain West continue to shrink from wildfire, drought, and land development, researchers are racing to answer basic questions about the tiny animal before its habitat disappears beneath it.
For Idaho and Wyoming landowners, ranchers, and public land managers, understanding the pygmy rabbit’s needs could shape future sagebrush conservation policy across millions of acres of shared federal rangeland.
What Happened
Researchers from the University of Idaho are conducting field studies in Wyoming’s Northern Red Desert, tracking pygmy rabbit populations and behavior in an effort to fill significant gaps in scientific knowledge about the species. University of Idaho doctoral student Ilaria Bacchiocchi is leading research crews through early morning surveys, using GPS coordinates to locate den openings and collecting biological samples — including fresh scat — to determine rabbit presence and activity levels.
The work, reported by WyoFile, brings together Wyoming and Idaho researchers who are collaborating on one of the most comprehensive field investigations of the pygmy rabbit conducted in recent years. Scientists are attempting to answer foundational questions about the rabbit’s habitat requirements, population density, and behavioral patterns — many of which remain poorly understood despite the animal’s precarious conservation status.
Bacchiocchi and her team were in the field as recently as March 24, 2026, combing the Red Desert for signs of rabbit activity at first light, when the animals are most active and evidence of their presence is freshest.
By the Numbers
- 1 species: The pygmy rabbit is the world’s smallest lagomorph, a classification that includes rabbits, hares, and pikas.
- Nearly 100%: The proportion of the pygmy rabbit’s diet that consists of sagebrush, making it uniquely dependent on a single plant type for survival.
- Millions of acres: The approximate extent of sagebrush habitat across the Mountain West that has been lost or degraded over the past century due to wildfire, invasive cheatgrass, and development.
- 2 states: Wyoming and Idaho are both central to the current research effort, reflecting the animal’s range across the broader Intermountain West.
- 1 university: The University of Idaho is leading the doctoral research effort driving the current field surveys in Wyoming’s Northern Red Desert.
Zoom Out
The pygmy rabbit’s struggles mirror a larger crisis facing sagebrush-dependent wildlife across the American West. Species including the greater sage-grouse, pronghorn antelope, and mule deer all rely on healthy sagebrush ecosystems — a biome that federal land managers and conservation groups have identified as one of the most imperiled in North America.
In Idaho, sagebrush loss has been a persistent concern for both wildlife agencies and agricultural communities, with invasive cheatgrass replacing native sagebrush stands following repeated wildfire cycles. The state has invested in sagebrush restoration programs, but scientists say restoration efforts frequently lag behind the pace of habitat destruction.
Nationally, the Biden administration had moved to strengthen federal protections for sagebrush landscapes, though the current political climate under the Trump administration has signaled a preference for reducing federal land use restrictions — a policy direction that conservation researchers say adds urgency to understanding which species are most at risk and why.
The pygmy rabbit presents a particularly stark case study because its near-total reliance on sagebrush means habitat degradation translates almost directly into population decline, leaving the species with few natural buffers against landscape-level changes.
What’s Next
Bacchiocchi and her University of Idaho research team are expected to continue field surveys through the active season, gathering population and behavioral data that will form the core of her doctoral research. Findings from the Wyoming field work are anticipated to be incorporated into broader academic publications and potentially into state and federal wildlife management recommendations.
Wyoming and Idaho wildlife agencies are likely to monitor the research outcomes closely, particularly as both states continue to navigate competing demands for sagebrush rangelands from energy development, grazing interests, and conservation efforts. Any push toward expanded federal protections for the pygmy rabbit would hinge largely on the kind of foundational data this research team is now working to produce.
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