American Pika

The American pika is a small, herbivorous mammal closely related to rabbits and hares, native to the mountainous regions of western North America, where it typically inhabits rocky slopes and talus fields at or above the tree line. Unusually for a mammal its size, it is diurnal, active mainly during daylight hours, and it employs two distinct foraging strategies, directly grazing on vegetation or gathering and storing plant material in caches called haypiles to sustain itself through winter, a behavior known as haying. Pikas are highly vocal, using a range of calls both to warn of approaching predators, including coyotes, martens and hawks, and during the breeding season. While populations in the southwestern United States have been declining due to habitat loss and warming temperatures, the American pika is overall assessed as a species of least concern and remains common across the northwestern United States and Canada.