5 April 2024
Rabbits rarely say anything but this small mammal, related to rabbits, stands on a prominent rock and shouts to his friends when he sees danger.
American pikas (Ochotona princeps) weigh 6 ounces and are only 6-8 inches long, covered from head to toe in thick fur. They live in boulder fields above the treeline where they eat flowers, grasses and other plants that they cache in a “haystack” for the winter. Though tiny these small mammals are a tasty meal for hawks, eagles, coyotes, bobcats, foxes and weasels.
Pikas very social and vocal, calling out danger and “singing” during the breeding season. When a pika sees danger he lets all the nearby pika’s know.
Though he has a small voice, he works on projection.
Behold! The most ferocious sound in the animal kingdom!
— USFWS Pacific (@USFWSPacific) April 2, 2024
The American pika, aka the whistling hare, uses its squeezy toy call to communicate and warn of predators.
Video: Dan Streiffert pic.twitter.com/a9WrRx2m84
p.s. I have never heard one, perhaps because the one time I saw a pika he wasn’t frightened.
A poem for International Haiku Day, April 17th:
Climate tide rising
Pikas on the mountaintop
Where do we go now?
Pikas are indeed threatened by climate change–I wonder if any efforts are underway to relocate them to places that will be more hospitable in the future.