Species: Ochotona princeps
American Pika
Species
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Encyclopedia of Puget Sound
Classification
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Craniata
Class
Mammalia
Order
Lagomorpha
Family
Ochotonidae
Genus
Ochotona
NatureServe
Classification
Other Global Common Names
pica d'Amérique
Informal Taxonomy
Animals, Vertebrates - Mammals - Other Mammals
Formal Taxonomy
Animalia - Craniata - Mammalia - Lagomorpha - Ochotonidae - Ochotona - (Uinta Mountains and Wasatch Range of central Utah).
Ecology and Life History
Migration
true - false - false
Non-migrant
true
Locally Migrant
false
Food Comments
Feeds primarily on grasses and sedges; also eats some flowering plants and shoots of woody vegetation. In late summer and fall, harvests and stores food (forbs, grasses, marmot pellets) for winter consumption; stored food may be most important when winter is unusually harsh or long (see Smith and Weston 1990). May forage in winter in snow tunnels. Ingests caecal pellets, either directly or after storage.
Reproduction Comments
Seasonally polyestrus. Gestation lasts approximately 30 days. Produces 1 or 2 litters of usually 2-5 young/litter (average often 3 at high elevations), between May and September; most young come from first litters. In most areas parturition begins in May with a peak in June, occurs as early as March in some low elevation areas (Smith and Weston 1990). In Colorado, initiates 2 litters annually but only one is weaned; births late June-early August. Young dependent on mother for at least 18 days, weaned as early as 3-4 weeks. Juveniles establish territories and haypiles in summer of birth, but do not breed until their 2nd summer. Maximum lifespan 7 years.
Ecology Comments
Home range size varies seasonally, largest during spring breeding season; defends haypiles in late summer. May defend territory; home range size about twice as large. Male and female territories average same size. Reported home ranges: 0.3-0.5 ha (Barash 1973); and mean 0.26 ha, range 0.04-0.30 ha (Kawamichi 1976). Adjacent home ranges tend to be occupied by opposite sexes. Population density was 3-10 per ha in favorable habitat in Colorado in mid-August (same as in other regions); population relatively stable due to density-related social behavior (Southwick et al. 1986). Juveniles tend to stay on natal home range or an adjacent one. Adult mortality 37-56% per year.
Length
22
Weight
128
Conservation Status
NatureServe Global Status Rank
G5
Global Status Last Reviewed
1996-11-05
Global Status Last Changed
1996-11-05
Other Status
LC - Least concern
Distribution
Conservation Status Map
<img src="http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/GetMapGif?CA.AB=S5&CA.BC=S5&US.CA=SNR&US.CO=S5&US.ID=S5&US.MT=S4&US.NN=SNR&US.NV=S2&US.NM=S2&US.OR=S4&US.UT=S3&US.WA=S5&US.WY=S4" alt="Conservation Status Map" style="width: 475px; height: auto;" />
Global Range
Distributed discontinuously in mountainous areas in western North America, from central British Columbia and southern Alberta south to east-central California, Nevada, southern Utah, and northern New Mexico; east to Wyoming and Colorado; ranges from sea level to 3000 m in north, uncommon below 2500 m at southern range limit (Smith and Weston 1990; Hoffmann, in Wilson and Reeder 1993). See detailed map in Hafner and Sullivan (1995).