{"id":969,"date":"2016-07-10T18:03:52","date_gmt":"2016-07-11T01:03:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/craigromano.com\/blog\/?p=969"},"modified":"2020-12-21T13:13:20","modified_gmt":"2020-12-21T21:13:20","slug":"six-things-you-didnt-know-about-pikas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/craigromano.com\/?p=969","title":{"rendered":"Six Things You Didn\u2019t Know About Pikas"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"

I observed this guy on Mount Baker’s Scott Paul Trail.<\/p><\/div>\n

Spend enough time hiking across talus slopes in the Cascades or Northern Rockies and you are bound to hear the high pitched whistle of the pika. Stand still for a minute or two and you are bound to see one or more of these cute little fur-balls scurrying across and under the talus. You may have witnessed them harvesting lupines too. One of the more whimsical and enjoyable to watch critters of the alpine world, here\u2019s a half dozen facts you may not know about pikas.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Pikas are not rodents!<\/strong> Yes, they are small and look like voles, but pikas are actually members of the family Leporidae. Which means they are related to hares and rabbits.<\/li>\n
  2. Pikas are diurnal or crepuscular<\/strong>. I just love using the latter word. It\u2019s a fancy way of saying they are active during twilight.<\/li>\n
  3. \n
    \"\"

    Jackpot! Pika pellet stash.<\/p><\/div>\n

    There are two species of pikas in North America<\/strong>. The collared pika lives in Alaska and Canada\u2019s Yukon Territory. The American pika lives in mountain ranges in western Canada and the United States.<\/li>\n

  4. There are 29 species of pika worldwide.<\/strong> The majority of these species live in Asia.<\/li>\n
  5. Pikas do not hibernate<\/strong>. Hence their characteristic of \u201chaying.\u201d They also eat their own dung and cache pellets as well as their \u201chay piles.\u201d<\/li>\n
  6. Pikas are indicator species of climate change<\/strong>. They are sensitive to high temperatures and their populations are under threat if temperatures in their alpine habitat continues to warm.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Looking for some great hikes to find pikas? Pick up a copy of my latest book and start exploring 100 of the best hiking destinations in Washington!\"\"<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Spend enough time hiking across talus slopes in the Cascades or Northern Rockies and you are bound to hear the high pitched whistle of the pika. Stand still for a minute or two and you are bound to see one or more of these cute little fur-balls scurrying across and under the talus. You may…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":970,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,22,39],"tags":[78,208],"class_list":["post-969","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-musings","category-wildlife","tag-cascades-wildlife","tag-pikas"],"yoast_head":"\nSix Things You Didn\u2019t Know About Pikas » Craig Romano<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/craigromano.com\/?p=969\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Six Things You Didn\u2019t Know About Pikas » Craig Romano\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Spend enough time hiking across talus slopes in the Cascades or Northern Rockies and you are bound to hear the high pitched whistle of the pika. Stand still for a minute or two and you are bound to see one or more of these cute little fur-balls scurrying across and under the talus. 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