Columbia basin pygmy rabbit in brush

Being able to survive in the sagebrush is tough- with summer temperatures over 100 degrees and winter temperatures often below freezing with snowy conditions. There isn’t much food available in winter other than sagebrush, which doesn’t bother the pygmy rabbit a bit. They are one of the few animals that have evolved to eat sagebrush, which can be toxic to many animals. The pygmy rabbit’s winter diet consists of about 99% sagebrush.