Wildlife photographer Linda Steider pushes through the underbrush at Little Beacon Rock in the Columbia River Gorge. She’s trying to quietly reach the bottom of a moss-covered rockslide.
“If you look up, there are smaller boulders, basketball-sized boulders,” she whispers. “They have decent holes underneath for the pikas to hide in.”
Steider is looking for pikas, mammals with furry, little bodies — about the size of a russet potato — and a call like a squeaky toy.
She said it took just one look at a pika in the wild, “then I became obsessed because they’re so adorable.”
“They’re in the rabbit family,” Steider said. “They’re also called rock rabbits and boulder bunnies.”
Pikas have Mickey Mouse ears, white feet and no tails.
At least once a week, Steider is outdoors counting pikas for a group called Cascades Pika Watch. The group’s looking for citizen scientists this summer to search for the little animal, which requires particular temperatures to thrive.
The state has listed them as a sensitive species because they’re vulnerable to climate change.
“They’re what we call an indicator species,” said Hayley Brazier, the wildlife conservation specialist at the Oregon Zoo. “By studying pika, we can understand how the larger habitat is doing.”
Pikas have very specific habitat requirements, she said, which is why you don’t 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.
“What’s really special about the Columbia River Gorge is that it is the lowest elevation that pikas live in the West,” Brazier said. “We have this distinct opportunity to go out and study these pika at their lowest elevations.”
Cascades Pika Watch already has over 400 trained volunteers. But it is still looking for more. Participants can train online for free.
“Pikas live in beautiful places where people love to hike, and their charm level is off the charts, so they’re really great for a project like this,” said Cascades Pika Watch scientific advisor Johanna Varner.
“We need a better understanding of how their populations and habitat could be changing.”
This is not the first time researchers have asked volunteer citizen scientists to survey pika populations. Linda Steider helped document the Gorge population’s recovery following the 2017 Eagle Creek fire.
Steider said about 40% of pikas survived in the fire area, likely by hiding underground where temperatures remained low.
“They are definitely recovering,” she said. “A 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.”
Still, unlike rabbits, pikas don’t breed quickly. They have just one litter a year, usually, and give birth to only one or two babies, called piklets.
“They are arguably one of the cutest mammals that exist, not only in Oregon but in the world,” said Brazier.
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.
“Data from Cascades Pika Watch is helping us better understand the unique ecosystem in the Gorge, and it’s been amazing to see the positive impact it’s had on both people and pikas,” said Varner. “It’s open to anyone, and it’s a perfect opportunity to get outdoors and make a meaningful contribution to conservation science.”
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.
“We ask that you wait for 25 minutes,” Brazier said. “That’s when you listen and look for any indication that there might be pika.
“So, for example, you’re going to be listening for those cute little squeak sounds that the pika make. You’re going to be looking for pika. They like to run all over the rocks. You’re going to be looking for their poop.”
In a nutshell, they look like large mice without a tail. They’re pretty shy and tend to come out after people leave an area, or after they believe people have left.
The trick to seeing one is getting to the right spot while it’s still cool, then sitting quietly for 25 minutes or more.
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.
This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.
