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As climate change comes to Idaho, this cute mountain dwelling mammal is dying

Eric Ellingson
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Flickr Creative Commons

If you’ve ever hiked some of Idaho’s tallest peaks, you may have been lucky enough to glimpse a pika scurrying around underfoot. The small, rodent-like mammals are adapted to live at high elevations, weathering long winters under the snow and eating what vegetation they can find.

But as climate change begins to affect the northern rockies in ways humans can notice, the pika is one species that is beginning to die out. Could extinction be on the horizon?

Biologist Peter Billman and research ecologist Erik Beever with the USGS join Idaho Matters to discuss their experience studying pikas.

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Frankie Barnhill was the Senior Producer of Idaho Matters, Boise State Public Radio's daily show and podcast.

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