380 



THE RODENTS OR GNAWING ANIMALS. 



that It will be seen that it does not lack for names. It is from 

 SIX to seven mches in length. Each hair of the upper parts of 

 this Pika is of a yellowish hue next to the skin, then a brownish 

 gray, and black at the tip, the resulting color being a dark 

 grizzly hue. The under portions of the body are of a yellowish 

 or dingy white, and the entire fur is dense and soft. The head, 

 which is two inches long, is ornamented with black whisker 

 hairs and the ears have a blackish tinge with a white margin. 

 The legs are short. A bunch of hairs, less than an inch long, 

 grows out from the rudimentary tail. 

 Range and Habits ^" *^ Rocky Mountain and Sierra Nevada 

 0/ American ranges from Arizona and New Mexico north 

 pjifds ™^° British Columbia and the Canadian 



northwest, but seldom seen below the timber 

 line, these Rodents are found as high up on the mountains as 

 vegetation extends. They are gregarious in their habits and 

 are usually found in colonies. Their favorite retreats are 

 places where stones, dropping from precipitous heights, have 

 found lodgment. In such localities the attention of an ob- 

 server may be attracted by squeaking sounds, short, sharp and 

 persistent. Then may be seen these creatures, which are 

 neither Hares, nor Rats, nor Guinea-Pigs, but which have 

 strong resemblances to each of those animals. Slowly the 

 Pika emerges from between the rocks, its body seeming to 



ALPINE CRYING HARES. These are Asiatic animals which inhabit the iiighest altitudes. They lay 



up piles of hay for food and shelter and the animals in the picture seem to be so engaged. They are burrowing 

 Rodents, have shorter ears than the Hares proper, and are practically tailless. (Lagomys alpinns.) 



touch the ground as its short legs carry it with jerky, uneven 

 gait.. Then it mounts a rock, squats on it and looks around, 

 keeping up its squeaking song, which is echoed by its com- 

 panions near by. The chorus may be kept up for a long time 

 unless the observer approaches too near, when the whole party 

 scampers with all possible speed to safe retreats among the 

 rocks and boulders. Sometimes the colony may be seen in 

 grassy spots looking for the food which these animals lay up, 

 in large supply, for the time of need, their rocky retreats be- 

 ing kept well stored with hay, roots and herbage of varied kinds. 

 The female prepares a comfortable, grassy nest among the 

 rocks for her litter of three or four young, which are born in 

 June. The Pika is not a harmful animal, for it lives in locali- 

 ties not susceptible of .cultivation, and it is not pursued to any 

 great extent by Man, though it doubtless finds formidable 

 enemies in- all the birds and beasts of prey which frequent its 

 mountain haunts. 

 Peculiarities of The Alpine Crying Hare {Lagomys 

 tfie Alpine Crying alpinus) is one of the better known 

 Hare. species and recalls to the mind of 



the beholder a Guinea Pig, by reason of both its 

 shape and physical proportions. The rough, thick, 



and short fur shows a reddish yellow ground color, 

 sprinkled with black on the upper surface, while the- 

 flanks and throat are of a plain russet color ; the 

 under parts and legs are of an ochre yellow hue. 

 Some individuals are of a deep black color. Adult 

 Crying Hares attain a length of about ten inches. 

 The Home of AH [Old World] Pikas are natives of 

 the Crying the high mountains of central Asia, 

 Hares. at an altitude of from three thousand 



to twelve thousand feet above the sea. There they 

 live in the rocky, wild, mountain fastnesses upoa 

 the grassy spots abounding near mountain torrents,, 

 either singly or in couples, or sometimes in commu- 

 nities of considerable numbers. This species is found 

 throughout the whole of the immense mountain 

 range of the northern edge of central and farther 

 Asia, and also occurs in Kamchatka. 



Small holes are excavated by themselves, or nat- 

 ural crevices in the earth or between rocks are 



chosen as their abodes by 

 the Pikas. On bright days 

 the animals stay hidden 

 until sunset; on cloudy 

 days they are in full activ- 

 ity. For fear of enemies 

 they often expose but half 

 their bodies at the openings 

 of their holes and stretch 

 their heads to see whether 

 or not an enemy is in sight. 

 Inquisitiveness and fear are 

 about equally blended in 

 the composition of their 

 character. Radde charac- 

 terizes the Pikas as active, 

 peaceable and very diligent 

 Rodents, that gather great 

 supplies of hay, pile them 

 correctly according to or- 

 derly rules, and sometimes 

 cover them with broad 

 leaves to protect them 

 from the rain. The heaps- 

 of hay collected by them 

 may have a height of six 

 or seven inches and a diameter of from six to twelve 

 inches. Narrow pathways, worn by repeated travel 

 over them, lead to their burrows, oh both sides of 

 which the Pikas eat off the grass. During the 

 snowy season of winter they drive tunnels under the 

 snow to their haystacks; these tunnels are curved 

 and tortuous and each has an opening for purposes 

 of ventilation. 



The cry of the Pika, which one may hear as late 

 as midnight, resembles the call of the Woodpecker, 

 and is repeated in rapid succession, but rarely over 

 three times. 



Unfortunately for them, the little creatures have a 

 great many enemies. Though they are not pursued 

 by the sportsmen of eastern Siberia, they suffer 

 much from the voracity of Wolves, Corsacs and 

 various Eagles and Falcons, and in winter they at- 

 tract their most dangerous foe, the Snow Owl. 



