You knew eventually we were going to land on a series of animals that pokemon were loosely based on, right?
Today’s Moment of Science… Pika… piiiikaaaaa…..
Close relatives of the rabbit, pikas resemble giant rotund mice with plush fur or small bunnies with rounded ears. There are thirty-three species of pika throughout North America and Asia. Ranging from about six to nine inches long and four to twelve ounces in weight (depending on species), these little guys can just about fit in the palm of your hand.
But you shouldn’t pick them up.
First reason is that pikas tend to live in mountain ranges, with the large-eared pika in the Himalayas parking its teensy fluffy tuchus as high as 20,000 feet above sea level. So in order to find one to hold, it can be a lot of work. But the second- and much more important- reason?
They can die from overheating alarmingly easily.
Pikas are wonderfully adapted to their high altitudes and cold weather. They have zippy metabolisms and thick fur, keeping them cozy in the tundra. But with the steady change of climate, the minimum elevation pikas can be found has risen by about 150 feet in the last century. Temperature is such a factor in their behavior that they typically lose 3% of their foraging time with every degree celsius the ambient temperature in their habitat rises. They’re surviving, but they’re losing ground.
When you hear “climate change is gonna kill animals,” I want you to stare at this bleb. This floof. This blorb. This perfect little winner of evolutionary cuteness that came into this world equipped to survive right up until the temperature reaches 77 degrees fahrenheit.
When the mercury climbs to a temperate 78 or 79 degrees, the pika can overheat and die in a matter of hours.
If you really want to get one for a pet, you’re either gonna have to settle for a rabbit or a pokemon. That and, cute as they are, beyond the whole ‘don’t you dare snuggle me for too long or I’ll play dead a little too convincingly,’ they have some personality quirks.
Like all the fucking shouting.
They communicate in an oddly adorable yet genuinely alarming squeal that could be forgivably mistaken for a wee dragon beckoning you. No word on if any of them have been caught yelling ‘pika pika,’ but they have distinct communication patterns based on the length of their calls. Their ‘EEEEP’s can mean anything from “get the fuck off my mountain” to “hey girl, u up?”
There’s a push to save those EEPs, and the Colorado Pika Project is engaging citizen scientists to observe the pika and collect data on them in their natural habitat. The data they’ve collected has contributed to research published in Nature, and they’re continuing to gather new information on how climate change is impacting these funny bunnies.
As much as I want to head to the Rocky Mountains to observe for myself, I’ll probably just take them up on their option to Adopt-A-Pika. From a distance. Without all the yelling.
This has been your daily Moment of Science, sadly letting you know the artist who designed Pikachu said it was based on a squirrel.
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