From the Boing Boing Flickr Pool, "Glover's Pika (Ochotona gloveri)," a lovely photo shared by Paul Jones, who was traveling in the Tibetan plateau when he spotted the little guy.
We saw five species of pika on our trip. This one – Glover's Pika – Ochotona glover – was the most attractive and, with its big ears and patterned fur, the most distinctive. In contrast to the super abundant, colony-living, earth-digging Plateau Pika out on the plains, the Glover's Pika is a solitary cliff-inhabiting creature.
Paul shot a ton of wonderful images on this trip, and they're gathered in this photo set.
Below, a Blue Sheep (Pseudois nayaur), at Bharal.
We saw many Blue Sheep on the Tibetan Plateau, typically high above us or across a valley in the middle distance. Early one morning a family group did oblige us on the valley floor and in the near dark I was able to obtain some photos. This was one of the few occasions when the 800mm lens I typically use provided too much magnification. Almost all my images from the scene left one part or another of the animals out.
And below, "Rainbows over the Tibetan Plateau."
I love this shot of a baby Himalayan Marmot.
We saw these animals regularly throughout our tour of the Tibetan Plateau; their loud whistled alarm calls were a big part of the trip's soundtrack. Not especially shy in general, this young one allowed particularly close approach.
The whole set is stunning!
