pika

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Any small mammal of the family Ochotonidae, belonging to the order Lagomorpha (rabbits and hares). The single genus Ochotona contains about 15 species, most of which live in mountainous regions of Asia, although two species are native to North America.

Pikas have short, rounded ears, and most species are about 20 cm/8 in long, with greyish-brown fur and no visible tail. Their warning call is a sharp whistle. They are vegetarian and in late summer cut grasses and other plants and place them in piles to dry as hay, which is then stored for the winter.

Pikas can be divided into rock pikas and burrowing pikas. Rock pikas live in rocky territory alone or in pairs. Population densities are low and lifespan is about six years. Females have two or three young per year. Burrowing pikas are social animals and live in family groups at high densities in meadows or steppes, with a much shorter lifespan, of less than two years. Females have as many as twenty young per year, in several large litters.

Pikas do not hibernate, but stay mostly in their burrows, feeding on the hay piles that they have stocked up during the summer.

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