Wild Fact #845 – Whistling Dixie – Pika
Photo by: Mark A. Chappell
I hope everyone is well rested and enjoyed their nice and sunny weekend. Well, it was at least sunny in Whitehorse so I am assuming it was nice everywhere in the world. Today we are going to learn about a little animal that is related to rabbits and hares. In fact the Pika has often been referred to as the “Whistling Hare” or the “Rock Rabbit”.
So what is a pika and why haven’t we heard of these little animals before. Granted, some of you may have heard of them but for arguments sake, I don’t think they are the most popular animal in the world. As I mentioned, they are related to the rabbits and hares but they prefer to live in the cold climates of Asia, North America and Europe. They are usually found on mountains amongst the rocks. Why would anyone want to live on a mountain? Besides the amazing views of the country side, there are fewer predators living at the higher altitudes. This would be a great advantage to an animal that is only 20 cm (8″) long.
The pika is a solitary animal that will protect their special territory from intruders. If another pika “accidentally” wanders into the wrong neighbourhood, they will get an ear full. The pika will whistle to warn the intruder and I am not talking about them whistling Dixie. It is a loud shrill which must really get the attention of every pika in the area since they all have large, rounded ears which are excellent for hearing. As you may have guessed, it is this whistling that has caused the nickname “whistling hares”.
As you can imagine the winters can be harsh for any animal living high up in the mountains so how do these little critters cope with the cold. Well, they aren’t lucky enough to sleep through the winter like some animals. To keep warm through the long winter months the pika will gather hay for their burrows. They create this insulation by collecting fresh grasses and stacking them to allow the grass to dry out. They take the dried grass back to their burrow and use it as insulation. I wonder if the business-savy pikas collect additional grass and sell it to the lazy pikas just before winter?
I hope you all enjoyed the Pika Fact! Have a great day!
