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American Pika — printable fact sheet
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Animal Fact Sheet
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American Pika
Ochotona princeps
The pika is not a rodent — it is a lagomorph, a close relative of rabbits and hares, and it is one of the very few mammals that stays awake and active all winter in alpine talus without hibernating. It gets through by farming. Through summer it makes repeated dashes into the mea…
Did you know?
- Unlike many small mammals in cold habitats, American Pikas are active year-round and do not hibernate, relying entirely on their haypiles for winter survival.
- Pikas give a short sharp "eenk" alarm call and, separately, longer "songs" used mainly by males in the breeding season. They eat their own soft caecal pellets, a lagomorph trait that lets them pass fibrous alpine plants through the gut twice. Haypile theft is common, and pikas defend their stacks aggressively against neighbours, which is much of what all that squeaking is about.
What I learned
Draw the american pika
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