Picture a round, furry rabbit-like animal that squeaks like a dog toy when it opens its mouth. That’s a pika. It’s one of the most adorable small mammals in North America, and just wait until you hear what it has to say.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) highlighted the American pika in a social media post today, sharing a short clip of a pika making its super-cute squeak.
The USFWS says the American pika uses its squeaky call to “talk” to other pikas.
“The small herbivores can distinguish individual high-pitched calls from other pika in the area,” the Instagram post says.
The pika in the video lives among the rocks of Mount Rainier, which is Washington’s tallest mountain. Watch and listen here:
American pikas are small herbivores in the same family as rabbits and hares. They live in mountainous regions of western North America, like Mount Rainier.
Pikas are active year-round. They survive harsh winters thanks to their thick fur and their ability to plan ahead. They create “haypiles”—winter food storage—made of vegetation like ferns, grasses, shrubs, and conifer twigs. This becomes their food source throughout the winter. Clever, huh?
And, did we mention they squeak?
As for what one pika said to the other pika, we don’t know, but we could probably listen to squeaking pikas all day.