The Possibility of Pikas

Last weekend, my wife and I went in search of pikas. If you are not familiar with these egg-shaped little mammals, they are lithic loving herbivores typically seen at higher elevations in the American West. They make their home in debris slopes, boulder fields, and other rocky habitat rich in cracks and crevices. Although they resemble rodents, they are members of the lagomorph, or rabbit, family. At one point, biologists named 35 subspecies but have now limited that to five within the species Ochotona princeps.

The common and generic names come from Siberia and Mongolia. In 1769, German naturalist Peter Simon Pallas published the first scientific description of pikas. He based it on an expedition to Siberia in 1768, when he learned of the Mongolian vernacular—ochodona or ogotona—for the little lagomorph, as well as the Tungus term of peeka. If you go with this origin, it means that pika, with an eye and not an ee sound, may not be the most correct pronunciation. But as anyone who has spent time with me knows, I am about the worst person to offer advice on how to pronounce words.

Diurnal and ever on the lookout for predators, pikas are more often heard than seen, for two reasons. The first is that they produce a two or three syllable call described as a “sharp metallic bark,” a “nasal squeak sometimes resembling the bleat of a very young lamb,” and as “low-pitched semirasping, mewing note.” The second reason is that they often blend in so perfectly with their surroundings that you can be staring directly at one and not see the wee beast.

Note the pika in the middle right of the image.

We, though, had not gone high to seek out our pikas. We had gone low, down to the Columbia River Gorge, home to an anomalous population of pika, found on both sides of the river. Located around sea level and up a thousand feet or so, this habitat is more than 3,300 feet below their typical homescape. As they do at higher sites, the Gorgeous pikas exploit the interstices of debris slopes, taking advantage of the lower temperatures, particularly in areas with high moss cover. A research team led by Johanna Varner has found that moss helps buffer ambient temperature extremes by providing shade, which tempers the midday sun; increasing albedo, which create warmer microhabitat; and may also have an effect on humidity. In addition, Varner and her colleagues showed that pikas benefit from the shade of taller trees and from inhabiting north facing sites. In essence, pikas in the Columbia River Gorge have found a refuge or oasis, amid what appears to be inhospitable habitat.

Close up of pika in previous image.

I learned about these low level pikas when researching pika for my upcoming book on the Cascades. I knew I wanted to mention these ubiquitous and wonderful mammals of the high country in the book but when I learned they also resided close to sea level, I had to go seek them out. After reaching out a several researchers, I figured out where we wanted to go, including Beacon Rock State Park and Wind Mountain, and what we sought in terms of the landscape.

Unfortunately, the rain and cool temperatures did not cooperate with our plans. Ever hopeful though, every time we came across a moss-covered debris field, I stopped, got out my binoculars, and searched, hoping I might see one of the pear-sized fur balls peeking out of his or her cozy home. Sadly, despite my earnest efforts, I didn’t see one. They were wise to the weather. Fortunately, on a previous trip to the Gorge, we had encountered a pika, though it was on the Oregon side, in Eagle Creek. It was pretty exciting to see such a normally high elevation critter down so low, revealing once again the amazing plasticity of life.

Good habitat for pikas. Lovely place to hike for humans.

In adapting to the lower elevations, these pikas have changed their lifestyles. They spend less time and energy caching for winter and more midday time in nearby forested areas. These adaptations provide some hope that pikas, which like many other generally high elevation animals are very susceptible to climate change, may have some innate qualities that give them a plasticity that will allow them to survive our changing planet. You go, pikas!