Producers: Ed Jahn and Liz Cosko; Videographers: Nick Fisher and Liz Cosko; Editor: Michael Bendixen; Special Thanks: Outdoor Idaho, Idaho PTV
Pikas are the adorable masters of the high country. These potato-sized members of the rabbit family squeak like plush toys and live among the rocks and under deep blankets of snow on the highest cascade peaks. So why are thousands of them living just a few hundred feet above sea level in the Columbia River Gorge? No pikas in North America live at this low elevation--so how do they do it? The lush mosses of the gorge may play a big role. As climate change hammers the pikas' high elevation habitat-the gorge may be a refuge for the species.
The Microclimate of Pika habitat in the gorge
What are Pika eating in the gorge?
How to volunteer with Cascades Pika Watch
Copyright 2021 EarthFix. To see more, visit .