![]() ( July 2020) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) ![]() Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. This section needs additional citations for verification. The young are born after a gestation period of between 25 and 30 days. Rock-dwelling pikas have small litters of fewer than five young, whilst the burrowing species tend to give birth to more young and to breed more frequently, possibly owing to a greater availability of resources in their native habitats. Another similarity that pikas share with other lagomorphs is that the bottom of their paws are covered with fur and lack paw pads. As with other lagomorphs, pikas have gnawing incisors and no canines, although they have fewer molars than rabbits. These animals are herbivores and feed on a wide variety of plant matter, including forbs, grasses, sedges, shrub twigs, moss and lichens. Collared pikas have been known to store dead birds in their burrows for food during winter and eat the feces of other animals. Like rabbits, after eating they initially produce soft green feces, which they eat again to take in further nutrition before producing the final solid fecal pellets. They are about 15 to 23 cm (5.9 to 9.1 in) in body length and weigh between 120 and 350 g (4.2 and 12.3 oz), depending on species. Pikas are small mammals, with short limbs and rounded ears. Changing temperatures have forced some pika populations to restrict their ranges to even higher elevations. In the mountains of Eurasia, pikas often share their burrows with snowfinches, which build their nests there. A few burrowing species are native to open steppe land. Most species live on rocky mountainsides, where numerous crevices are available for their shelter, although some pikas also construct crude burrows. Pikas are native to cold climates in Asia and North America. Habitat Collared pika on Hatcher Pass, Alaska The two species found in North America are the American pika, found primarily in the mountains of the western United States and far southwestern Canada, and the collared pika of northern British Columbia, the Yukon, western Northwest Territories and Alaska. Another species, the Sardinian pika, belonging to the separate genus Prolagus, has become extinct within the last 2000 years owing to human activity. Only one genus, Ochotona ( / ɒ k ə ˈ t oʊ n ə/ or / ɒ tʃ ə ˈ t oʊ n ə/), is extant within the family, covering 37 species, though many fossil genera are known. They are the smallest animal in the lagomorph group. It is used for any member of the Ochotonidae ( / ɒ k ə t oʊ n ɪ d eɪ/), a family within the order of lagomorphs, the order which also includes the Leporidae (rabbits and hares). The name "pika" appears to be derived from the Tungus pika, and the scientific name Ochotona is derived from the Mongolian word ogotno, оготно, which means pika. The pika is also known as the whistling hare because of its high-pitched alarm call it gives when alarmed. In the autumn they pull hay, soft twigs, and other stores of food into their burrows to eat during the long, cold winter. Pikas prefer rocky slopes and graze on a range of plants, primarily grasses, flowers, and young stems. ![]() The large-eared pika of the Himalayas and nearby mountains lives at elevations of more than 6,000 m (20,000 ft). ![]() With short limbs, a very round body, an even coat of fur, and no external tail, they resemble their close relative, the rabbit, but with short, rounded ears. A pika is a small, mountain-dwelling mammal native to Asia and North America.
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