Whistling Hare Skull Replica measures 1.7 inches. Whistling Hare Skull Replica is museum quality polyurethane cast. 2-part skull (separate cranium & jaw). Made in USA. Cast of an original California Academy of Sciences specimen. Known as American Pica.
The American Pika or Whistling Hare known in the 19th century as the “little chief hare”, has a small, round, ovate body.
Their body length ranges from 6.4 to 8.5 in. Their hind feet range from 1–1½ in. They usually weigh about 6.0 oz. Body size can vary among populations.
The Whistling Hare is intermediate in size among pikas. The hind legs of the pika do not seem to be much longer than its front legs and its hind feet are relatively short when compared to most other lagomorphs.
It has densely furred soles on its feet except for black pads at the ends of the toes. The ears are moderately large and sub-orbicular and are hairy on both surfaces, normally dark with white margins.
The Pika’s “buried” tail is longer relative to body size compared to other lagomorphs. It has a slightly rounded skull with a broad and flat preorbital region.
The fur color of the Whistling Hare is the same for both sexes, but varies by subspecies and season.
The dorsal fur of the pika ranges from grayish to cinnamon-brown, often colored with tawny or ochraceous hues, during the summer.
During winter, Whistling Hare fur becomes grayer and longer. The dense underfur is usually slate gray or lead-colored. It also has whitish ventral fur. Males are called bucks and females are called does like rabbits.
The American pika or Whistling Hare live in high elevations of southwest Canada and western USA.
The Whistling Hare is a generalist herbivore. It eats a large variety of green plants, including different kinds of grasses, sedges, thistles, and fireweed.
Although a pika can meet its water demand from the vegetation eaten, it does drink water if it is available in its environment.
Little Chief Hares have two different ways of foraging; they directly consume food (feeding) or they cache food in haypiles to use for a food source in the winter (haying). They feed throughout the year while haying is limited to the summer.
Since they do not hibernate, they have greater energy demands than other montane mammals.
They also make 13 trips per hour to collect vegetation when haying, up to a little over 100 trips per day. The timing of haying seems to correlate to the amount of precipitation from the previous winter.
Whistling Hares are vocal, using both calls and songs to warn when predators are nearby and during the breeding season. Predators of the pika include eagles, hawks, coyotes, bobcats, foxes, and weasels.
A female has two litters per year and these litters average three young each. Breeding takes place one month before the snow melts and gestation lasts around 30 days.
Whistling Hares are born altricial, being blind, slightly haired, and having fully erupted teeth. They weigh between 0.35 and 0.42 oz. at birth. At around nine days old, they are able to open their eyes. Mothers forage most of the day and return to the nest once every two hours to nurse the young.
Young become independent after four weeks, around the same time they are weaned. Young may remain in their natal or an adjoining home range.
When in their home range, young occupy areas away from their relatives as much as possible. Dispersal appears to be caused by competition for territories.
Recent studies suggest populations in the southwestern United States are declining due to habitat loss and global warming. However, the American pika is overall considered a species of Least Concern, and is still common in the northwestern United States and Canada.
