Pika on the verge of extinction!
 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051230/...cience_pika_dc

Human activity and climate change may be pushing the tiny American pika toward extinction in the mountains of western North America, according to research published on Thursday.

The small rabbit-like mammals live in rock-strewn slopes but are gradually being pushed to higher elevations and are running out of places to live, archeologist Donald Grayson reports in the current issue of the Journal of Biogeography.

"Human influences have combined with factors such as climate change operating over longer time scales to produce the diminished distribution of pikas in the Great Basin today," Grayson said.

Seven of 25 historically described populations of pikas in the Great Basin -- the area between the Sierra Nevada and Rocky Mountains -- appear to have become extinct by the end of the 20th century, Grayson said.

Among the intrusions that appear to imperil the pikas are roads built close to their habitat and pressure from grazing livestock, Grayson said.

He examined 57 archeological sites dating as far back as 40,000 years, as well as unpublished studies by other researchers, finding that the tiny mammals have been pushed higher over the years.

"The Great Basin pika is totally isolated on separated mountain ranges and there is no way one of these populations can get to another," Grayson said in a statement. "They don't have much up-slope habitat left."

Pikas, which are very sensitive to high temperatures, are considered to be one of the best early warning systems for detecting global warming in the western United States, the journal reported.

Raph's Girl note: This is soo sad!!! I grew up chasing these little creatures!!! :cry: Every year my family and I would go camping in the mountains and I'd laugh as my cousins try to capture them. I've gotten some to eat out of my hands. I grew up calling them Potguts because they're so fat from eating human food. :lol: You always know there's Pika around too because you can hear the call of the males saying "Pika! Pika!" and yes these little creatures are what Pikachu are based on.

But the question is this:

What do they taste like?

they don't seriously say 'pika' do they? that's just ****ing awesome...

SAVE THE PIKAS!

(and, actually Pika is mouse/rodent in japanese, and 'chu' is what the japanese think a mouses squeek sounds like... if i remember correctly. Gamefreak, Pokemon's creators, pry had no idea these little things existed)

Yes they say "Pika!"...it's the territorial call of the males....In the summer you hear it all the time...especially if you're camping in Pika territory. I've grown up camping in Pika territory in Utah. :lol:

Incidentally tho there's species of Pika all over. It's just the American Pika that's on the verge of extinction. There's 2 species in Japan and a couple more in China. There's even a species that can be found in them stan countries. Turkestan and Afghanistan. You can even find them in the Himalayas!

This is the Turkestan Red Pika...now just picture it with a long lightening shaped tail!:
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.ed...jpg/medium.jpg

My god...POKEMON ARE TAKING OVER THE WORLD!!! *gets out a golf club* Every human for themselves! :P

Seriousness aside, why the hell does humanity seem to destroy everything it touches? :-? Poor little Pikas :( Hopfully there is some hope left for these little guys

YES! JUST what I was wondering! Haugh... they look so delectable in those pics... anyone know?

Hey, if we domesticate pikas and raise them like cattle, they won't be in danger of extinction anymore.:evilgrin:

I got artistic wondering what a Pika would look like with a lightening shaped tail...needless to say it's rather frightening :lol: :

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y72...a/PikaPika.jpg

As for what they taste like... Chicken only much sweeter. Really nummy and not quite as stringy as Gator. :evilgrin: Altho Gator is really good...so's Osterich...altho Osterich tastes like beef.

Yeah, but they'll face horrible unhappy and cruel lives. You are disgusting.

The more offensive you get, the more I like you. Keep it up, kid.

x-x sorry...

Do you have a pet of any kind? If so, YOU GOT SERVED.

If not, then you still probably have the same reaction when you see a cute dog on the street, pawing at your feet.

"OMG LAGUNA BEACH! ITS SO CUTE!"

Which would make you a hypocrite.

If you were wondering, then the answer is yes. I just won an arguement before it actually happened.

- Dont eat the tuna fish!
- Why?
- 'Cause the dolphins get stuck in their net and they die!
- Well, what about the tuna fish?
- f*ck them, they taste good.

a sorry case of ignorance...

If dolphins were so damn smart they would avoid the nets! Idiots....

Anyway i would be up for a Pika Burger it has to be better than squab.

Good grief... It was a joke. In real life, I care a good deal for animals. How much? I go out of my way to rescue earthworms from drowning in puddles, getting stepped on, and drying out in the sun by giving them water. Every time I have to kill a fly to rescue food, or smash a black widow and her eggs, I feel a sharp twinge of guilt... I loathe the yayhoos who throw stones at geese, who torture any animal just because it's "fun."

As for raising animals for food, like cows, chickens, and sheep (not dolphins), I have to say I care more for human welfare than animal welfare. I dunno. Could have something to do with being a member of the species... And some animals are very tasty.

I didn't mean it like that. I mean I actually find you funnier the more offensive you get.