I wrote in 2017 (“Pikas losing the battle with climate change“) about climate change reducing the tundra habitat for hamster-sized pikas and how they are rapidly disappearing. As global warming has continued, pikas have been driven ever higher, to cooler elevations. In Colorado, the tundra they inhabit now begins at 11,000 to 11,500 feet. Our highest mountains are just over 14,000 feet, so time is running out for the little guys.
This one, however, found over on Gunta’s blog, has rallied his fans and isn’t going down without a fight:
Thanks for the mention! 🙏🤗
You might be interested to see this video from Oregon Field Guide about Pikas returning to the Columbia River Gorge after the fire (roughly two years ago): https://www.opb.org/article/2020/10/30/pikas-return-to-the-gorge-or-so-researchers-think/
I found it to be a glimmer of hope….
A glimmer to be sure. Keeping my fingers crossed.
That article/video certainly is more hopeful than expected! I’ve been mourning the wildlife ROMO lost during 2020’s East Troublesome and Cameron Peak fires; particularly the pikas who were caught unawares when those fires hopped, skipped, and jumped over our tundra. Maybe some survived in their dens also 🤞🤞 Thanks for sharing, Gunta!
Now I feel guilty that I never thought about the tundra critters when the East Troublesome jumped the Divide. But maybe, as in Gunta’s link, a lot more pikas survived among the rocks than we might have assumed.
The tundra is so delicate – even without these weather patterns
(Any ideas how to fight China’s mega coal plants they are starting up? Seriously, the volcanoes are blasting enough damage into the air, we’ve got to do what we can. Do you keep up with the group Wolves of the Rockies as we do? Apparently the reestablishing of wolf packs is at risk in CO. as well as Montana, and Wisconsin. Planned/sanctioned Wolf slaughters. Pikas, wolves, and bees. We have to save all the pieces to save ourselves)
In past years, I’ve followed the wolf stories pretty closely. I’m upset to hear the approved reestablishment of wolves in Colorado, which I’ve followed mostly just through headlines, is at risk. But I’m not surprised, given how intensely they are hated and hunted in Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho. Shoot them, destroy their habitat, or just roast them. One way or another, slowly but surely, we are destroying life on Earth. And we too are on the list for eventual extinction.
The singing pika is very funny. But it’s sad to see them disappearing. This year, on Trail Ridge Road, I saw very few compared to previous years.
I too thought the video was really funny. That’s why I wanted to share it. But it has since made me kind of sad. The voice is Freddie Mercury singing at the Live Aid Concert. And he knew at the time that he had AIDS and was dying. It was his next to last live performance with Queen, my all-time favorite band.