Office & Parks Winter Weather Closures
Due to expected extreme weather conditions, Denver Colorado Parks and Wildlife Headquarters (including the Call Center), Northeast Region and Littleton Offices, are closing at noon Friday, Nov. 8. Castlewood Canyon State Park is closed. Cherry Creek, Chatfield and Barr Lake Park visitor centers are closed.
Veteran's Day Office Closures
Colorado Parks and Wildlife offices, including park visitor centers, will be closed for the state holiday, Monday, Nov. 11.
The pika's shrill call is a staple of Colorado's alpine landscapes.
The pika is a close relative of rabbits and hares, with two upper incisors on each side of the jaw, one behind the other. Being rock-gray in color, pikas are seldom seen until their shrill call reveals their presence. They scurry around the mountainside, stopping frequently to squeak a warning.
Their tiny round droppings and distinctive haypiles are common around rocks near and above treeline. Pikas shed in late spring from their long winter coats to a shorter summer coat, then shed again in the fall. Because of the short warm season, end of spring shedding can overlap the beginning of the fall shed so the animals look scruffy most of the summer.
Pikas are about the size and shape of a guinea pig, about eight inches in length and weighing about seven ounces.
Pikas are restricted to mountainous parts of Colorado and other Western states.
Mostly alpine and subalpine talus and rock piles.
Pikas are active year-round; they harvest vegetation from alpine meadows during the short growing season and store it for winter food in bushel-sized mounds beneath boulders.
Pikas breed in March or April and have a litter of three or four young after a gestation period of about 30 days. Some females have a second litter. Maximum life span is four to seven years.
Predators of pikas include long-tailed weasels, ermines and American (pine) martens. Coyotes and hawks take a toll as well, but pikas are well protected from larger predators by their rocky habitat.
