First photographic record of royle’s pika (Ochotona roylei) in Ganderbal District, Jammu and Kashmir

Abstract

Royle’s Pika (Ochotona roylei Ogilby, 1839) is a poorly documented alpine lagomorph of the western Himalaya. A single individual was recorded on 16 May 2024 in Waliwar forest, Ganderbal District, Jammu and Kashmir, at 2,757 m a.s.l. The sighting occurred along a forest trail within a dense Aesculus indica patch, where the animal showed typical rock-dwelling behavior using boulder crevices for concealment. This record adds to the limited distributional data from the Kashmir Valley and highlights the importance of forest-alpine transition habitats, emphasizing the need for focused ecological studies and conservation attention for the species.