pika

See also Prolagus.

They're definitely not hunters, and they spend most of their waking hours gathering plants and grasses for the winter (and also to line their nests, since they don't hibernate) but they are opportunistic feeders and will eat carrion if they find it and if the wolves don't get to it (or them) first.

Wait! I thought they were vegetarians!

Anyway... there are worse things to be than a really cute scavenger. I think. Maybe.

Or if you do, try to kick around a bit.

Wow! I had no idea that pikas would scavenge. I remember them bustling about and making hay. Skipvia, thanks (I think) for that information. Next time I'm in the mountains, I won't take a nap.

Skipvia, I can finally say that I know someone who's photographed pika poop.

Uh oh...this will probably need a name to go on chained_bear's excrement list.

Nothing left but the hair and bones, and they were starting to gnaw the bones. They're not vicious--just surviving.

Well, what cute creature *doesn't* strip a caribou carcass in pretty short order?

*still a little stunned*

Pika are undeniably adorable, c_b, but they are also ravenous and can strip a caribou carcass in pretty short order. I posted a few pictures of a caribou skeleton that we came across a couple of years ago on a backcountry trip. You can see the extent of pika droppings in many of the photos. I love watching them.

Even their poop is cute...

If you want to get cute-overloaded, go look on YouTube for some pika footage. They're adorable.

bryulik: I love pika pika. Thanks.

pika pika is the sound of sun for japanese

Indeed! One opinion is that their name came from a Russian word meaning "to squeak!"

eeeeep!