Snowshoe rabbit, or varying hare.
Collared Pika
Ochotona collaris
The pika, cony, or rock rabbit, as he is variously called, makes his home in rock slides. His way of life, and his physical attributes, are such, that he would have difficulty surviving away from the labyrinth of passages in his slide rock home.
The pika is in the same order (different family) as hares and rabbits. Like rabbits, they have two pairs of upper incisors; back of the grooved anterior incisors is a pair of very small incisors. The feet are furred; the ears are not long but are rounded and prominent. Something has happened to the external tail for there is none. The tail vertebrae lie under the body skin. The plump body is about 6 or 7 inches long as the cony sits on a rock; the color is gray.
Collared pika (cony, rock rabbit)
The call is a single nasal “yank,” usually uttered while perched on a rock where he can look around. He may be difficult to locate, but a movement as he disappears in a crevice and reappears on the same rock or one nearby will reveal him. Usually other calls from various parts of the rock field will indicate the location of other pikas.
The pika is known for his hay making in preparation for the long winter. During much of the summer he is busy carrying grass, herbs, and twigs to his many caches located in cavities protected from the weather. The vegetation is usually added slowly enough to the various caches so that it all cures properly. Only occasionally is a cache moldy. I have noted a few caches composed of the broad, heavy coltsfoot leaves that had failed to dry properly; possibly these slow-drying leaves were harvested in wet weather. Nearly all plants within range of his rocky habitat are used. Willow, rose, grass, sedge, horsetail, various saxifrages, fireweed, coltsfoot, fruiticose and even crustose lichens are some of the many plants that have been found in the caches. Some books say that the hay is spread over rocks to dry and then stored. The pika’s technique is superior to such quick drying, and results in more nutritious and greener hay.
The sheep, moose and caribou often seek mineral licks consisting of clay which can be readily eaten. Ground squirrels and marmot feed on pebbles or fine dust in their craving for minerals. On one occasion I watched a pika gnawing a rock. A niche showed that a considerable amount of it had been eaten. I carried the rock away as a sample of rock-eating but later thought better of it and returned it to the pika. Perhaps in the future I may be able to check the rock again.
Along the road, the first good place to look for pikas is in the jumble of rocks above the Savage River bridge, an accumulation that has fallen away from a rocky point, part of which is still in place. On Polychrome Pass are several rock fields where many pikas are living. Another pika place along the road is a mile or two beyond Camp Eilson. A pretty picture is a pika carrying a bouquet of flowers, neatly arranged, as though he were going a-courting.