9856 Haystack Circle Alpine Tundra, CO 1675 Age:1 Food: Grass and herbs Place: My nest and haystack Time of year: Fall and Winter © November 18, 2008

I darted across the rocks trying to flee from the hawk. I finally reached my nest. Home, Sweet, Home! Hi! I’m Pikachu the Pika and I posses many intriguing qualities like my haystacks, amazing ways of protecting myself, exceptional food, out of the ordinary adaptations and how I survive in the winter. I (Pikachu the pika) comprise unique haystacks. My family and I reside under rockslides and our homes are 19,000 feet above sea level. The warm, cozy nest is made out of grasses and leaves. To make a haystack, we dart to our feeding grounds and pull petite plants up with our teeth. When I’m at my feeding ground collecting food for my haystack, I need to scrutinize the sky or ground for any enemies. In order to make the haystack not rot, I have to roll it over several times and I add 2.5 cm every day to my haystack. I heard that a creature called “humans” have discovered some pika’s haystacks that are 24 cm tall! By early spring my haystack is almost gone! Every single day in late summer and fall I dart back and fourth to my feeding ground to collect food for my haystack. I dig a tunnel from my nest to my haystack so I don’t need to venture out into the freezing cold in winter. xsa MdPyA.jpg Look at me at 6 months old. One of my amazing haystacks.

Squeak, Squeak, I squeak to alert other Pikas that an enemy is near. I acquire numerous of ways to protect myself. When I need to caution other pikas to not trespass near my home or to warn pikas that a threat is near, I squeak. The squeak of Me (the American Pika) is soft and sounds like the bleat of a lamb. All of the Pikas and I have conversations by squeaking and each of us comprises of a different squeak. One squeak means to stay away from my territory and the second squeak means danger is near. My coat is extremely soft and holds in all of my body heat to keep me warm in the winter. The coat matches my surroundings like: rocks and grass. The cozy coat grows in three layers and the third layer is for insulation. In late June the coat molts and transforms into the summer coat and then in early November, it molts into the winter coat. nationalwildlife/images/122006/Picas_spreads01.jpg Me squeaking to alert other Pikas that danger is near. Sorry! Muddy feet DANGER!

I’m all warm in my coat! We all contain amazing adaptations. My teeth are called incisors. My family and I comprise six incisors on the top and four on the bottom. The teeth gradually wear down as I grow up and the little teeth never stop growing. All Pikas contain the same kind of teeth and include teeth almost like rodents. We all posses a scent gland under our jaws that helps us mark our territory and when we want to let out the scent we just rub our neck on a rock. VOTE PIKACHU THE PIKA FOR COLORADO STATE ANIMAL NOT BILLY THE BIGHORN! Me! Not Billy! One of my Campaigning Buttons lisan.jpg

The snow comes down in The Rocky Mountains as I frolic around. We acquire many ways to survive in the winter. I’m active all winter long. It is difficult for me to detect food in the winter so I feed off of my haystack. We even dart around above ground during the first snow fall. The winter coats keep us very warm in the winter. When mice and little animals are famished, they consume food from my haystack in the winter and every time they do it I really want to bicker with the mice! My haystack includes food like: abundant piles of grass, vital pieces of twig and exquisite flowers. YUM!!! Sometimes the haystacks are so tall that I need to stand on my hind legs to reach food and sometimes they may weigh up to 30 pounds. The food in the haystack is very dry and the haystacks may grow as tall as 3 feet. That’s ample amounts of food for me!! I love collecting food for my haystack! YUM!!

Remember, Vote for Pikachu the Pika when Billy the Bighorn sheep steps down from being the Colorado State Animal. Remember all of my amazing qualities like my amazing 24 cm tall haystacks, teeth that never stop growing, coats with three layers to keep me warm and my nest that are made out of grass. journal When you think of me, remember my amazing 24 cm haystacks

Bibliography Books Nickles, Greg. Pikas. Danbury, CT: Grolier Educational, 2001 Wassink, Jan L. Mammals of the Central Rockies. Missoula, MT: Mountain Press, Landau, Elaine. Mountain Mammals. Danbury, CT: Children's Press, 1996 Rennicke, Jeff. Colorado Wildlife. Helena, MT: Falcon Press, Miller, Sara S. Rabbits, Pikas, and Hares. Library of Congress, Websites Pika Types and Where They Live. TV Ontario (1994). Retrieved October 30, 2008, from Discovery Education: Pika Types and Where They Live. TV Ontario (1994). Retrieved October 30, 2008, from Discovery Education: What is a Pika?. TV Ontario (1994). Retrieved November 13, 2008, from Discovery Education: Movies