08/14/2026
The only thing cuter than pika are baby pika! Even as adults, American Pika weigh just 6 ounces, about the same weight as the smartphone in your hand! 📱
These awesome little critters can survive harsh winters, jagged cliff faces, and life above the tree line. What they can't survive however, is climate change.
Pikas thermoregulate more through behavior than bodily responses. They curl up to warm up, and stretch their little bodies out to cool down. They seek out rocky crevices to provide warmth in the winter and cool shade in the summer. But they aren't known to pant or sweat, so when temperatures reach above 78°F (25°C), they can die of hyperthermia within minutes if they aren't able to find somewhere to cool off. For now, our local pika population's rocky homes provide enough of a temperature difference, but Utah and many other states are seeing an increasing number of 100°F + (38°C +) days. How much longer will their shady refuges stay cool?
