How many pikas are left in the world

About the size and shape of a hamster, the American pika typically lives at high elevations where cool, moist conditions prevail.


A relative of rabbits, tiny, cute and charismatic American pikas typically live in cool, mountain environments and find refuge from the hot sun under boulders and rocks. Because the animals are sensitive to high temperatures, some researchers in the recent past have predicted that as the climate warms, pikas will have to move to ever-higher elevations until they eventually run out of places toward the top of the world where they can go. Then, they’ll likely become extinct.

Because of that predicted scenario, some have even claimed that this beguiling, little herbivore is the proverbial canary in the coal mine for climate change.

But despite their outwardly cuddly appearance, American pikas are among North America’s toughest animals. And, surprisingly, we’re now finding out that this little creature is far more resilient in the face of challenging warmer temperatures than we previously believed.


Surprise! You’re looking at one of North America’s toughest and most resilient animals. ©Mitch Chapman, flickr



Climate change conundrum


Although cl


For years, researchers have believed that climate change may be driving American pika populations from mountainous regions in the American West. A study released last week further confirms their suspicions: even in areas with abundant habitat, American pikas are having a hard time surviving due to climate change.

Researchers looked at 910 locations of the lagomorph in three mountainous regions, including the Great Basin, northeast California and southern Utah to see how well the populations are surviving and found that many of them had disappeared, leaving their peppercorn-sized droppings and rounded hay piles as the only evidence they were ever there.



Pikas are considered an indicator species because of their sensitivity to aspects of climate; even brief exposures to temperatures over 77 degrees can kill them if they’re unable to cool their body temperature. In 2010, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decided not to protect the pika under the Endangered Species Act, citing insufficient evidence that climate change would cause its extinction and noting that there was still habitat available at higher elevations. The latest study, along with a number of others on pika habita

No Mere Pipsqueaks: They Are Pikas, Hear Them Roar



by Todd Wilkinson


Yes, the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is renowned in the Lower 48 for its “charismatic megafauna”—i.e. big, obvious animals recognized for their size, hooves, horns, antlers, claws and canid teeth. As a bioregion, it holds a concentration of large mammal species that has persisted continuously 
in the wild
 since the end of the last Ice Age. More recently, over the last 150 years, these animals survived waves of de-wilding that pushed many to the brink of disappearing while eliminating several from much of their former ranges.

In healthy, diverse ecosystems every species fills an important niche, and their natural history tells a story. 

Let us begin this series of WildJourneys, based on Helen Seay’s engaging mural in downtown Jackson. We’ll commence by paying homage 
not
 to an obvious giant—but to one who inhabits the artwork’s walls more discretely and maintains a subtle presence the same as its profile in our wild backyard. 

Though it dwells in the shadows of prominent icons, emitting vocalizations that make it a pipsqueak, look closely at the mural and you’ll find 

The Ili Pika May Be the Most Adorable Endangered Species


The Ili pika isn't the only member of the
Ochotona
genus. There are more than 30 different types of pika species, found primarily in Asia, North America and Eastern Europe.

Pika Species in Asia

Asian pikas, such as the Moupin and Plateau pikas, inhabit diverse environments ranging from rocky areas in mountainous regions to grasslands and meadows.

Their diet primarily comprises grasses, herbs and other vegetation, which they gather and store in heaps to dry for winter consumption, a behavior known as haypiling.

Examples of Asian pikas include:



Afghan pika (
O. rufescens
)

Alpine pika (
O. alpina
)

Chinese red pika (
O. erythrotis
)

Daurian pika (
O. dauurica
)

Forrest's pika (
O. forresti
)

Gansu pika (
O. cansus
)

Glover's pika (
O. gloveri
)

Helan Shan pika (
O. argentata
)

Hoffmann's pika (
O. hoffmani
)

Ili pika (
O. iliensis
)

Kazakh pika (
O. opaca
)

Koslov's pika (
O. koslowi
)

Ladak pika (
O. ladacensis
)

Large-eared pika (
O. macrotis
)

Moupin pika (
O. thibetana
)

Northern pika (
O. hyperborea
)

Nubra pika (
O. nubrica
)

Pallas's pika (
O. pallasi
)

Plateau pika (
O. curzoniae
)

Royle'