Each rock-dwelling pika stores its own ‘haypile’ of dried vegetation, whilst burrowing species often share food stores with their burrow mates. Pikas do not hibernate so they generally spend time during the summer collecting and storing food for the winter.
They show their peak activity just before the winter season. Pikas are active during daylight ( diurnal) or twilight hours ( crepuscular), with higher-elevation species generally being more active during the daytime. Activity Īmerican pika with mouthful of dried grass, Sequoia National Park, California The young are born after a gestation period of between 25 and 30 days. Rock-dwelling pikas have small litters of fewer than five young, whilst the burrowing species tend to give birth to more young and to breed more frequently, possibly owing to a greater availability of resources in their native habitats. Another similarity that pikas share with other lagomorphs is that the bottom of their paws are covered with fur and therefore lack paw pads. As with other lagomorphs, pikas have gnawing incisors and no canines, although they have fewer molars than rabbits they have a dental formula of: 2.0.3.2 1.0.2.3. These animals are herbivores and feed on a wide variety of plant matter, including forbs, grasses, sedges, shrub twigs, moss and lichens. Collared pikas have been known to store dead birds in their burrows for food during winter and eat the feces of other animals. Like rabbits, after eating they initially produce soft green feces, which they eat again to take in further nutrition before producing the final solid fecal pellets. They are about 15 to 23 cm (6 to 9 in) in body length and weigh between 120 and 350 g (4 and 12 + 1⁄ 2 oz), depending on species. Pikas are small mammals, with short limbs and rounded ears.
The two species found in North America are the American pika, found primarily in the mountains of the western United States and far southwestern Canada, and the collared pika of northern British Columbia, the Yukon, western Northwest Territories and Alaska. Another species, the Sardinian pika, belonging to the separate genus Prolagus, has become extinct within the last 2000 years owing to human activity. Only one genus, Ochotona, is extant within the family, covering 37 species, though many fossil genera are known. It is used for any member of the Ochotonidae, a family within the order of lagomorphs which also includes the Leporidae (rabbits and hares). The name ‘pika’ appears to be derived from the Tungus piika, and the scientific name Ochotona is from the Mongolian word ogutun-a, оготно, which means pika. The pika is also known as the whistling hare because of its high-pitched alarm call when diving into its burrow. In the autumn they pull hay, soft twigs and other stores of food into their burrows to eat during the long, cold winter. Pikas prefer rocky slopes and graze on a range of plants, mostly grasses, flowers and young stems. The large-eared pika of the Himalayas and nearby mountains is found at heights of more than 6,000 m (20,000 ft), among the highest of any mammal. With short limbs, very round body, an even coat of fur, and no external tail, they resemble their close relative, the rabbit, but with short, rounded ears. A pika ( / ˈ p aɪ k ə/ PY-kə archaically spelled pica) is a small, mountain-dwelling mammal found in Asia and North America.
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