The American pika — a small, herbivorous, conspicuously cute mammal related to rabbits and hares — is adapted to the cold climate in high-elevation boulder fields and alpine meadows in the mountains ...

Only highly specialized critters that have mastered this harsh environment live here such as the American pika (Ochotona princeps). The pika is an adorable fuzzy critter in the rodent family.

The species name princeps comes from the Latin word for chief, referring to the Chipewyan Indian name for the pika: “little chief hare.” The word pika comes from the name used by the Tunguses tribe in ...