The next time you see a pika

Posted by: Rick_D

The next time you see a pika - 02/20/15 06:23 PM

Take time to enjoy the experience. They might not be there when you return to that spot.

Quote:
The study identified 67 sites in the Sierra where pikas have been known to live – from the slopes of Mount Shasta in the north to the John Muir Wilderness in the south. Researchers found pikas had vanished from 10 of these spots, said Joseph Stewart, a scientist at UC Santa Cruz and the study’s lead author.

While all mammals respond to temperature changes, the pika is particularly sensitive. It dies when its body temperature rises just a bit above normal. Temperatures above 75 degrees can kill a pika in one hour.


If I had to choose my two favorite mountain critters, they'd be the pika and the ouzel.
Posted by: Glenn Roberts

Re: The next time you see a pika - 02/20/15 06:46 PM

Mine might be Daisy and Mouse. smile
Posted by: hikerduane

Re: The next time you see a pika - 02/23/15 08:05 AM

I saw and heard plenty on my CO vacation in the Aspen area. We may all have to do what people from Denver do, go to that area.
Duane
Edit: Old age, could not remember the area I was in. Maroon Bells, highly photographed in CO, the top place there.
Posted by: 4evrplan

Re: The next time you see a pika - 02/23/15 10:36 AM

Up until this thread, I thought pika was an eating disorder. That username makes a lot more sense now.
Posted by: OregonMouse

Re: The next time you see a pika - 02/24/15 12:34 AM

Interestingly, we have them at quite low altitude (almost sea level) in rockslides in the Columbia River Gorge. Evidently not all are affected by warm temperatures.
Posted by: bobito9

Re: The next time you see a pika - 02/24/15 08:41 PM

Mouse, it's interesting that you see them so low along the Columbia.
The place I saw the most of them, bar none, was on a trip in the Wind Rivers. Of course, any given year could be a population boom year or crash year, I guess, but it seems like the Winds would be pretty optimal conditions
Posted by: Jimshaw

Re: The next time you see a pika - 03/01/15 11:09 PM

There are a few Pikas here in the Bend Area.
One morning we found a hundred flowers (pinks) bitten off the same length and laid out in perfect order on garden steps to dry before being taken in for winter food. Thats how you know you have a Pika. Good luck seeing one.
Jim
Posted by: OregonMouse

Re: The next time you see a pika - 03/02/15 12:09 PM

I must admit that I hear pikas a LOT more often than I see one!
Posted by: galaxea

Re: The next time you see a pika - 04/06/15 12:22 AM

i love pikas. if i come across a talus field and hear them, i stop and wait. eventually i see them scurrying around the rocks here and there but only if there aren't other hikers nearby. not uncommon to find them in subalpine talus areas in washington's cascades