Pika - OCHOTONA PRINCEPS


Class: Animals with Milk Glands (Mammalia)
Subclass: True Mammals (Eutheria)
Order: Hare Shape (Lagomorpha)
Family: Ochotonidae.


Location: Northwestern United States and western Canada.


Habitat: Terrestrial. Rocky mountainous regions down to sea level.


Description: The pika is a rat-sized animal, grayish or brown, with short wide rounded ears. The short tail is not visible. It grows a little longer than eight inches and weighs a little more than six ounces.


Behavior: The northern pika lives in large colonies, within which each individual appears to maintain its own territory in the autumn months, and possibly throughout the year. It is active by day, feeds on grass, and spends much time gathering its food in small. It does not hibernate. The pika makes a short squeak, which is very distinctive and unmistakable. It lives in areas where man's presence is very limited.


Reproduction: The pika reproduces in spring and possibly in summer as well. Gestation lasts about 30 days and the female gives birth to two to five young at each delivery.