Creature Feature #588: Pika

The Pika is a sweet-faced little mammal, related to the rabbits. There are thirty species, spread across America and Eurasia, where they inhabit the colder regions, particularly in the mountains and high steppes. One species, the adorable Ili Pika of Asia, was first discovered in 1983, then not seen again until 2014, when he became an internet sensation. This species is an Collared Pika, found in the Canada and Alaska. Here she leads a solitary lifestyle, gathering grasses during the spring months, and drying them in her burrow for the cold winter. She does not hibernate. During these lean months, she may also collect any dead birds, killed by the cold, and bury them near her burrow, in snow. When she becomes hungry, she digs them out, pierces the skull and eats the brains.