Pikas live in colonies divided into individual territories that they actively defend. They feed on alpine grasses, sedges, thistles, fireweed, cushion plants and lichens. It survives the cold winter by eating dried vegetation they have stored away in haypiles. What they eat: The Pika is herbivore that stays active year round even in winter. In Washington, the Pika is found living around talus slopes, rock piles, or boulder slides.įound in the Cascades and northeast regions of Washington.Ĭlick the range map to learn more about the distribution of Pika in Washington. They are often found at the interface between meadow habitat and open rocky terrain. Pikas are found in the rocky terrain in the mountain regionsįrom central British Columbia to South-Central California and east to Colorado. The body is egg-shaped and the underside is a buffy color.īody length: 162 to 216 mm (6 to 8.5 in). Pikas have rounded ears, light brown and gray fur, long whiskers and no visible tails. Rabbits, hares and pikas are related species. They are related to rabbits but are are about the size of large hamsters. NatureMapping Animal Facts for Kids American PikaĪmerican Pikas are hearty small mammals who live in rock piles in the mountains of western North America. It uses a variety of habitats within its range.American Pika Facts for Kids - NatureMapping East of the Cascade Range, it occurs throughout the sagebrush regions. In Oregon, the black-tailed jackrabbit is found west of the Cascade Range only in the Rogue, Umpqua and Willamette valleys. The feet are much darker and the dorsal surface of the tail has more black. The overall appearance of the pelage in winter is similar to that of the summer pelage west of the Cascade Range but are grizzled. In summer, the pelage is much lighter black bands on hairs are shorter.Įast of the Cascade Range, the light-colored bands on the dorsal hairs are almost white instead of buff and the dark-colored bands are much narrower. Overall, the coloration is dark buff shading to black on the dorsum. The feet are mostly white with splotches of buff dorsally. The ears are dark buff peppered with black and blending to black at the tip. The tail is black on the dorsum and dark buff on the venter. On the venter, hairs are white with light pinkish-buff tips. Hairs on the throat, sides, and rump have gray bases blending to buff with short black tips. West of the Cascade Range, the dorsal hairs of this rabbit have gray blending to dark-brown or blackish base followed by a narrow band of buff and a black tip. In conformation, it is much like the white-tailed jackrabbit. The black-tailed jackrabbit is slightly smaller than the white-tailed jackrabbit but considerably larger than the snowshoe hare. In the Willamette Valley, coverts occupied by the Eastern cottontail commonly contain large clumps of blackberries interlaced around small white oak, ash and black cottonwood trees and interspersed among grasses and forbs. The source of animals in the Portland area is unknown, but it may be from Missouri stock introduced near Battle Ground, WA in 1933. From these sites, Eastern cottontails have spread at least through the mid-Willamette Valley. This rabbit was introduced into Benton County in 1937 and into Linn County in 1941 from Ohio and Illinois. The venter hairs are white with gray bases, giving a splotched appearance when the hairs are spread, and the tail hairs are white to the base. The hairs on the dorsum have steel gray bases followed by bands of brownish black, buff, and black. Overall, the dorsal pelage is brownish, becoming darker (almost black) on the rump and lighter buffy brown on the flanks the nape patch is orangy brown without black hairs, and the head is the same color as the dorsum. The eastern cottontail is the largest member of the genus in Oregon.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |