More Burton

Feeling the need to bolster my knowledge of animals with common names starting with the letter 'U', turning the pages of Burton again last night. And having found the large porcupine noticed at reference 1 last time, this time I come across the Mount Everest Pika, an animal rather like a small rabbit - and classified as such among the lagomorphs - and which lives on the northern slopes of the Himalayas, perhaps even on the northern slopes of the great mountain itself, if they descend so far. With the pika being able to get by up to around 17,500 feet, a height record among mammals. And with Scottish hills being very bleak at 3,000 feet - certainly not enough going on to keep sheep going.

Then for once in a while I catch wikipedia out. It claims at reference 2 that this particular pika was only invented in 1973, while Burton's book was pubished in 1962, and he clearly knew about it.

I note in passing that there are several animals with common names starting with the letter 'U', with the easiest to remember being 'urchin', a synonym for hedgehog. Nothing in the rules about animals with two common names. While I was at it, I also took a look at 'N', where there was a surprising number, helped along by a number of animals which were north something, for example the northern sea elephant. There were also several bats and I intend to write to the rules committee about the exclusion of bats. Yes they are mammals, but there are a lot of them, more than a thousand of them, and mostly very obscure, at least to an Englishman. A standing invitation to pedants to swat up and try to impress us with their knowledge of animals we neither know of nor care about.

With thanks to Caroline Scheipe for the picture. From right to left: Lhotse, south col, summit? With the south summit being the bend in the ridge to the left of the summit proper?  With the western approach - that of Tensing, Hunt, Hilary & Co. - being the white patch bottom left?

Reference 1: http://psmv3.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/burton.html.

Reference 2: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himalayan_pika.