Appreciate the Small Things in Life

Appreciate the Small Things in Life - Day 421 - Daily Content Challenge

A Pika is a small, mountain-dwelling mammal. The scientific name of the Pika is Ochotona Minor. Pika are found in Asia and North America. They number fewer than 1,000 worldwide making them rarer than the panda.

A pika has short limbs, a very round body, and an even coat of fur. They do not have an external tail. They resemble their close relative the rabbit but they have short, rounded ears. The pika is also known as the whistling hare. They make a high-pitched alarm call when they dive into their burrow.

Pika live close to each other and in colonies. Within their colonies, each Pika has its own den. They warn each other if a predator is nearby and they alert each other by whistling. Their large short ears help them to pick up the alarm.

Breeding takes place in the early spring. When they are ready to breed, a Pika will stay in one territory and another Pika will be in another territory. The two Pika call to each other and this starts the breeding process. Babies are born one month later. The average size of a litter is three but they could have only two babies or as many as six.

For the first month of their life, the babies stay with their mother. By three months, they are considered adults and at one year they are old enough to breed. American Pika can live up to seven years.

Pika are so small they like to live away from other animals. They have many predators. Weasels, foxes, coyotes, and birds of prey like to attack and kill pika. Besides predators, Pika are threatened by increasingly warm weather caused by climate change. If the temperature is higher than 77 degrees F, Pika cannot survive longer than six hours.

A Pika has thick fur so that they don’t get cold in winter. When the weather warms up the coat of fur thins out so they don’t get too hot in the sun. In extreme heat their fur is still thick enough that they may suffer.

Pika should not be kept as a pet. They need to live in certain conditions that cannot be provided in your home. Pika cannot live in warm temperatures and your house would be too warm for them.

American pikas can be found in Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Utah, and New Mexico. They also live in western Canada. American pikas live above the tree line in alpine terrain.

Pikas are not only cute but smart. Throughout the growing season, these herbivores cut, sun-dry and later store vegetation to eat during the winter.

These are the sayings found on the bookmark called Advice from a Pika.

Be Alert
Voice Your Opinion
Appreciate the Small Things in Life
Save for the Future
Sometimes We Have to Squeak By
Spend Time in the Mountains
Catch a Few Winks!

Here are my comments about each of these sayings.

Be Alert - Stay up to date and stay in the know when there is something wrong.
Voice Your Opinion - Say what you think or feel.
Appreciate the Small Things in Life - Focus on what brings you joy and happiness. Practice gratitude for those everyday moments that we often take for granted.
Save for the Future - The future is tomorrow. Set aside an amount of money to save for future events.
Sometimes We Have to Squeak By - To squeak by is to succeed by a narrow margin.
Spend Time in the Mountains - My favourite place is in the mountains near Banff National Park or in Waterton Lakes National Park. The Beauty of God’s creation is amazing.
Catch a Few Winks! - Take a brief nap.