Another Albino Animal Spotted in Shennongjia! This Time the Star Is the “Alpine Sprite”—the Qinling Pika

On September 9, staff from the Shennongjia National Park Candidate Area, together with the National Bird Banding Center of China and the Hubei Wildlife Rescue and Research Development Center, was conducting banding and monitoring of Himalayan swiftlets. At Dajiaoyin, at an elevation of nearly 2,900 m, staff from the Science Research Institute recorded an albino individual of the Qinling pika (Ochotona huangensis).

Another albino animal found in Shennongjia—the Qinling pika (Photo by Ma Guofei)

“I was completely focused on watching the Himalayan swiftlets flying in and out from deep inside the cave. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a small, fast-moving white flash. I instinctively turned to look and saw a mouse-like little creature hiding behind a rock in front of me. After waiting patiently for a short while, I saw it dart out from behind the rock again and race toward the cave entrance. In the rush, I still managed to take two relatively clear photos with my phone. When I looked closely, it turned out to be a pika. It was my first time seeing an albino animal so close—I was absolutely thrilled!” the witness said.

Albino Qinling pika (Photo by Tan Fei)

Based on an analysis of the distribution and monitoring data of pikas in Shennongjia, experts identified the albino pika as the nominate subspecies of the Qinling pika (Ochotona huangensis huangensis), which is widely distributed at higher elevations in Shennongjia. In mainland China, it is distributed in Shaanxi and other areas. Its type locality is the Qinling Mountains in Shaanxi. The Qinling pika is a mammal of the genus Ochotona in the family Ochotonidae, and is endemic to China. It has a body length of about 15–20 cm and typical pika features, including short ears, no external tail, and short limbs. It inhabits montane shrubland, meadow, and bare-rock environments above 2,000 m. It feeds on herbaceous plants, is active by day, and stores food for the winter.

A common small mammal in Shennongjia: the Qinling pika (Photo by Ma Guofei)

Shennongjia has long been one of the world’s hotspots for albino animal sightings, with no shortage of authentic evidence. On July 3 this year, Tan Fei, a staff member of Hubei ShennongTourism Investment Group Co., Ltd., also photographed an albino Qinling pika at the Tianyan Scenic Area in Shennongjia. Shortly before this latest discovery of an albino Qinling pika, news of an albino Asian black bear had sparked heated discussion among netizens, once again making Shennongjia’s albino animals a trending topic. (Text by Ma Guofei)