Watch a pika forage for food in mountainous terrain and deliver a litter of fully dependent hairless pups
Learn about the pika (genus Ochotona), including how it maintains a den during the winter and gives birth in the spring.
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Transcript
NARRATOR: The pika's shelter is often a rocky den. During the summer and autumn months, the pika prepares for winter by gathering grasses, leaves, and flowers, which it builds into haystacks close to its home.
In its dry burrow beneath the snow, the pika will feed in warmth and comfort from its stock of food throughout the winter months.
When the warm rays of spring sunshine appear, the pika senses a change of season. As the melting snow uncovers the rocks, the pika peeks out.
In the spring, deep in an underground nest, the female pika gives birth. Born blind and without hair, the young pikas will rely on their mother for food and protection for several weeks before they are strong enough to venture forth.
In its dry burrow beneath the snow, the pika will feed in warmth and comfort from its stock of food throughout the winter months.
When the warm rays of spring sunshine appear, the pika senses a change of season. As the melting snow uncovers the rocks, the pika peeks out.
In the spring, deep in an underground nest, the female pika gives birth. Born blind and without hair, the young pikas will rely on their mother for food and protection for several weeks before they are strong enough to venture forth.