BC Conservation Data Centre: Species Summary
Ochotona princeps
American Pika
| Scientific Name: | Ochotona princeps (Richardson, 1828) | ||||||||||
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| English Name: | American Pika | ||||||||||
| English Name Synonyms: |
Common Pika
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| Classification / Taxonomy | |||||||||||
| Scientific Name - Concept Reference: | Hafner, D. J., and A. T. Smith. 2010. Revision of the subspecies of the American pika, Ochotona princeps (Lagomorpha: Ochotonidae). Journal of Mammalogy 91:401-417. | ||||||||||
| Classification Level: | Species | ||||||||||
| Species Group: | Vertebrate Animal | ||||||||||
| Species Code: | M-OCPR | ||||||||||
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| Conservation Status / Legal Designation | |||||||||||
| Global Status: | G5 (Aug 2016) | ||||||||||
| Provincial Status: | S5? (Mar 2024) | ||||||||||
| BC List: | Yellow | ||||||||||
| Provincial FRPA list: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Wildlife Act: | |||||||||||
| COSEWIC Status: | |||||||||||
| SARA Schedule: | |||||||||||
| General Status Canada: | 4 - Secure (2005) | ||||||||||
| Ecology & Life History | |||||||||||
| General Description: | |||||||||||
| Global Reproduction Comments: | Pikas are seasonally polyestrus. Gestation lasts approximately 30 days. Adult females produce 1 or 2 litters of usually 2-5 young/litter (average often 3 at high elevations), between May and September; most young come from first litters. In most areas parturition begins in May with a peak in June, occurs as early as March in some low elevation areas (Smith and Weston 1990). In Colorado, pikas initiate 2 litters annually but only one is weaned; births occur late June-early August. Young are dependent on their mother for at least 18 days, weaned as early as 3-4 weeks. Juveniles establish territories and haypiles in the summer of their birth but do not breed until their 2nd summer. Maximum lifespan is about 7 years. | ||||||||||
| Global Ecology Comments: | Adjacent home ranges tend to be occupied by opposite sexes. Population density was 3-10 per ha in favorable habitat in Colorado in mid-August (same as in other regions); population relatively stable due to density-related social behavior (Southwick et al. 1986). Juveniles tend to stay on natal home range or an adjacent one. Adult mortality 37-56% per year. | ||||||||||
| Migration Characteristics: (Global / Provincial) | |||||||||||
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Nonmigrant: Local Migrant: Distant Migrant: Within Borders Migrant: |
Y / N / N / na / |
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| Global Migration Comments: | Home range size varies seasonally, largest during spring breeding season. Pikas defend haypiles in late summer. Home range size is about twice as large as the defended area. Male and female territories average about the same size. Reported home ranges: 0.3-0.5 hectares (Barash 1973); also reported as mean 0.26 hectares, range 0.04-0.30 hectares (Kawamichi 1976). |
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| Habitats: (Type / Subtype / Dependence) |
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| Global Habitat Comments: | Pikas are restricted to rocky talus slopes, primarily the talus-meadow interface. Often they occur above treeline up to limit of vegetation but also can be found at lower elevations in rocky areas within forests or near lakes. Occasionally they inhabit mine tailings or even piles of lumber or scrap metal. Nests are hidden in talus. | ||||||||||
| Food Habits: |
Herbivore: Adult, Immature
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| Global Food Habits Comments: | Diet includes primarily grasses, sedges, and forbs, sometimes shoots of woody vegetation. In late summer and fall, pikas harvest and stores food (forbs, grasses, marmot pellets) for winter consumption; stored food may be most important when winter is unusually harsh or long (see Smith and Weston 1990). In winter, some foraging may occur in snow tunnels. Pikas regularly ingest caecal pellets, either directly or after storage. | ||||||||||
| Global Phenology: |
Diurnal: Adult, Immature
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| Global Phenology Comments: | Pikas are active diurnally throughout the year. Near the lower elevational limit, individuals may be inactive at midday in hot weather (Smith and Weston 1990). | ||||||||||
| Provincial Phenology: (1st half of month/ 2nd half of month) |
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| Colonial Breeder: | N | ||||||||||
| Length(cm)/width(cm)/Weight(g): | 22/ / 128 | ||||||||||
| Elevation (m) (min / max): |
Global:
Provincial: |
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| Distribution | |||||||||||
| Endemic: | N | ||||||||||
| Global Range Comment: | Distributed discontinuously in mountainous areas in western North America, from central British Columbia and southern Alberta south to east-central California, Nevada, southern Utah, and northern New Mexico; east to Wyoming and Colorado; ranges from sea level to 3000 m in north, uncommon below 2500 m at southern range limit (Smith and Weston 1990; Hoffmann, in Wilson and Reeder 1993). See detailed map in Hafner and Sullivan (1995). | ||||||||||
| Authors / Contributors | |||||||||||
| Global Information Author: | Hammerson, G. | ||||||||||
| Last Updated: | Aug 22, 2013 | ||||||||||
| Provincial Information Author: | |||||||||||
| Last Updated: | |||||||||||
| References and Related Literature | |||||||||||
Banfield, A. W. F. 1974. The mammals of Canada. University of Toronto Press, Toronto, Canada. 438 pp. |
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Barash, D. P. 1973c. Territory and foraging behavior of the pika (Ochotona princeps) in Montana. American Midland Naturalist 89:202-207. |
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Hafner, D. J., and R. M. Sullivan. 1995. Historical and ecological biogeography of Nearctic pikas (Lagomorpha: Ochotonidae). Journal of Mammalogy 76:302-321. |
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Hall, E. R. 1981a. The Mammals of North America, second edition. Vols. I & II. John Wiley & Sons, New York, New York. 1181 pp. |
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Howell, A. H. 1924. Revision of the American pikas (genus Ochotona). North American Fauna 47:1-57. |
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Jones, J. K., Jr., R. S. Hoffman, D. W. Rice, C. Jones, R. J. Baker, and M. D. Engstrom. 1992a. Revised checklist of North American mammals north of Mexico, 1991. Occasional Papers, The Museum, Texas Tech University, 146:1-23. |
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Nagorsen, D. W. 2005b. The rodents and lagomorphs of British Columbia. Royal B.C. Mus. Handb., Victoria, BC. 410pp. |
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Smith, A. T., and M. L. Weston. 1990. Ochotona princeps. Am. Soc. Mamm., Mammalian Species No. 352:1-8. |
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Southwick, C. H., et al. 1986. Population density and fluctuations of pikas (Ochotona princeps) in Colorado. J. Mamm. 67:149-153. |
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Wilson, D. E., and D. M. Reeder (editors). 1993. Mammal species of the world: a taxonomic and geographic reference. Second edition. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC. xviii + 1206 pp. Available online at: http://www.nmnh.si.edu/msw/. |
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Please visit the website Conservation Status Ranks for definitions of the data fields used in this summary report.
Suggested Citation:
B.C. Conservation Data Centre. 2013. Species Summary: Ochotona princeps. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Jun 9, 2026).