{"id":717955,"date":"2026-06-21T20:20:17","date_gmt":"2026-06-21T20:20:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/717955\/"},"modified":"2026-06-21T20:20:17","modified_gmt":"2026-06-21T20:20:17","slug":"do-you-like-tiny-furry-squeaky-animals-cascades-pika-watch-wants-your-help","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/717955\/","title":{"rendered":"Do you like tiny, furry, squeaky animals? Cascades Pika Watch wants your help"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"A<\/p>\n

A pika out eating moss at Little Beacon Rock, in the Columbia River Gorge, June 24, 2020<\/p>\n

Courtesy of Linda Steider<\/p>\n

Listen to audio from OPB journalists<\/p>\n

Wildlife photographer Linda Steider pushes through the underbrush at Little Beacon Rock in the Columbia River Gorge. She\u2019s trying to quietly reach the bottom of a moss-covered rockslide.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you look up, there are smaller boulders, basketball-sized boulders,\u201d she whispers. \u201cThey have decent holes underneath for the pikas to hide in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Steider is looking for pikas, mammals with furry, little bodies \u2014 about the size of a russet potato \u2014 and a call like a squeaky toy.<\/p>\n

She said it took just one look at a pika in the wild, \u201cthen I became obsessed because they\u2019re so adorable.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re in the rabbit family,\u201d Steider said. \u201cThey\u2019re also called rock rabbits and boulder bunnies.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Photographer<\/p>\n

Photographer Linda Steider looks for pikas at Little Beacon Rock in the Columbia River Gorge. June 16, 2026<\/p>\n

Kristian Foden-Vencil \/ OPB<\/p>\n

Pikas have Mickey Mouse ears, white feet and no tails.<\/p>\n

At least once a week, Steider is outdoors counting pikas for a group called Cascades Pika Watch<\/a>. The group\u2019s looking for citizen scientists this summer to search for the little animal, which requires particular temperatures to thrive. <\/p>\n

The state has listed them as a sensitive species because they\u2019re vulnerable to climate change. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re what we call an indicator species,\u201d said Hayley Brazier, the wildlife conservation specialist at the Oregon Zoo. \u201cBy studying pika, we can understand how the larger habitat is doing.\u201d <\/p>\n

Pikas have very specific habitat requirements, she said, which is why you don\u2019t see them in your garden. They like to live at high elevations, in rocky outcroppings and slides where the spaces between boulders are just big enough that a potato would fit underneath.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A pika pokes its head out of a boulder field at Little Beacon Rock, WA, April 26, 2026<\/p>\n

Courtesy of Steider Studios<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s really special about the Columbia River Gorge is that it is the lowest elevation that pikas live in the West,\u201d Brazier said. \u201cWe have this distinct opportunity to go out and study these pika at their lowest elevations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cascades Pika Watch<\/a> already has over 400 trained volunteers. But it is still looking for more. Participants can train online for free<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cPikas live in beautiful places where people love to hike, and their charm level is off the charts, so they\u2019re really great for a project like this,\u201d said Cascades Pika Watch scientific advisor Johanna Varner.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need a better understanding of how their populations and habitat could be changing.\u201d <\/p>\n

This is not the first time researchers have asked volunteer citizen scientists to survey pika populations. Linda Steider helped document the Gorge population\u2019s recovery following the 2017 Eagle Creek fire<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Steider said about 40% of pikas survived in the fire area, likely by hiding underground where temperatures remained low.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are definitely recovering,\u201d she said. \u201cA lot of the vegetation is growing back. And as pikas reproduce, the young go out and find new territory. So they are reproducing and dispersing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Wildlife<\/p>\n

Wildlife photographer, Linda Steider looking for pikas to capture with her camera at Little Beacon Rock, Washington. June 16, 2026<\/p>\n

Kristian Foden-Vencil \/ OPB<\/p>\n

Still, unlike rabbits, pikas don\u2019t breed quickly. They have just one litter a year, usually, and give birth to only one or two babies, called piklets.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are arguably one of the cutest mammals that exist, not only in Oregon but in the world,\u201d said Brazier.<\/p>\n

Scientists hope the data provided by citizen scientists will provide an early warning of any future change and allow land managers to take action before any widespread decline begins.<\/p>\n

\u201cData from Cascades Pika Watch is helping us better understand the unique ecosystem in the Gorge, and it\u2019s been amazing to see the positive impact it\u2019s had on both people and pikas,\u201d said Varner. \u201cIt\u2019s open to anyone, and it\u2019s a perfect opportunity to get outdoors and make a meaningful contribution to conservation science.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pika watch volunteers choose from any one of 90 sites, identified by GPS locations. It could be along a hiking trail, at a scenic overlook, or even next to a parking area, so people with mobility issues can take part.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe ask that you wait for 25 minutes,\u201d Brazier said. \u201cThat\u2019s when you listen and look for any indication that there might be pika. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo, for example, you\u2019re going to be listening for those cute little squeak sounds that the pika make. You\u2019re going to be looking for pika. They like to run all over the rocks. You\u2019re going to be looking for their poop.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a nutshell, they look like large mice without a tail. They\u2019re pretty shy and tend to come out after people leave an area, or after they believe people have left. <\/p>\n

The trick to seeing one is getting to the right spot while it\u2019s still cool, then sitting quietly for 25 minutes or more. <\/p>\n

Pika watchers submit their data by phone or computer, and it goes straight to the Columbia River Gorge Commission, which uses the info for guidance as it helps to manage land for recreational and other uses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A pika out eating moss at Little Beacon Rock, in the Columbia River Gorge, June 24, 2020 Courtesy…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":717956,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[309251,79,201],"class_list":["post-717955","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-outdoors-science-environment-northwest-portland-metro","tag-science","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/717955","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=717955"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/717955\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/717956"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=717955"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=717955"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=717955"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}