Males are called bucks and females are called does like rabbits. The dense underfur is usually slate gray- or lead-colored. During winter, the fur becomes grayer and longer.
The dorsal fur of the pika ranges from grayish to cinnamon-brown, often colored with tawny or ochraceous hues, during the summer. The fur color of the pika is the same for both sexes, but varies by subspecies and season. It has a slightly rounded skull with a broad and flat preorbital region. The pika's "buried" tail is longer relative to body size compared to other lagomorphs. The ears are moderately large and suborbicular, and are hairy on both surfaces, normally dark with white margins. It has densely furred soles on its feet except for black pads at the ends of the toes. The hind legs of the pika do not seem to be much longer than its front legs and its hind feet are relatively short when compared to most other lagomorphs. The American pika is intermediate in size among pikas. In populations with sexual dimorphism, males are slightly larger than females. Their hind feet range from 25 to 35 mm (1–1½ in). Their body lengths range from 162 to 216 mm (6.4 to 8.5 in). Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences of working at the museum.American pikas, known in the 19th century as "little Chief hares", have a small, round, ovate body. Patrick McShea works in the Education and Visitor Experience department of Carnegie Museum of Natural History. More information about this initiative can be found at: Since 2009 a team of National Park Service staff and academic researchers have collaborated on a research project to both assess climate change threats to pikas and develop strategies to address those threats. For pika populations on mountaintop “sky islands,” there are no good relocation options. If warmer daytime temperatures force pikas to forage more at night, predation rates will likely rise, and as snow packs are reduced, the creatures lose a critical winter insulation blanket. These micro-meadows, which could be traversed by the sheep in a dozen strides, are critical home range for the pikas.Ī changing climate threatens to disrupt such delicately balanced pika living arrangements in a least two ways. The fresh plant stem in the mouth of one pika and the winter food supply of dried plants guarded by another grew in limited zones of adjacent soil. First-time viewers must survey the landscape to spot the pikas, an action that visually inventories the critical habitat threatened by a changing climate. Two partially concealed pikas share the three-dimensional alpine scene with the trio of larger and far more mobile hoofed mammals. Within the Hall of North American Wildlife, these habitat elements are depicted in a diorama featuring three Stone Sheep. Habitat requirements for these rabbit-relatives include piles of sheltering rocks and boulders, flowers and other nourishing vegetation as a food source, and consistently cool temperatures.
In several national parks, the sight of a pika barking its “squeaky toy” alarm call from a boulder top lookout is one of the hard-earned rewards for hiking above the timberline. Pikas rank high on any scale of visual appeal. These Guinea pig-sized creatures occur across the more mountainous areas of western North America in a range that progressively increases in elevation as it stretches southward from British Columbia to New Mexico. As a museum educator, it is sometimes hard to avoid such set-ups, particularly when the looming threat to the featured wildlife is global climate change.Ĭonsider the situation of the American Pika. Just when our interest in a previously overlooked creature has been effectively sparked, we are abruptly informed of dire threats to the species’ continued existence. Photo by Mackenzie Jeffress, Nevada Department of Wildlife
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