For more than 20 years, the Ili pika (Ochotona iliensis), a type of tiny, mountain-dwelling mammal with a teddy bear face, had eluded scientists in the Tianshan Mountains (map) of northwestern China.

When summer temperatures are too high, they are forced to stay underground. (Photo by Chris Ray) The American pika, a small mammal adapted to high altitudes and cold temperatures, has died out from a ...

The American pika — a small, herbivorous, conspicuously cute mammal related to rabbits and hares — is adapted to the cold climate in high-elevation boulder fields and alpine meadows in the mountains ...

but that doesn't stop the Turuchan pika from having fun. These small, fluffy mammals are known for their love of all types of play — from swinging from branches to chasing each other.

That sound? It could be a pika — a small, potato-shaped mammal closely related to rabbits, known for its high-pitched call and elusive nature. On a recent spring day at Horsetail Falls ...

It relies on these community scientists—the Pika Patrol—to help gather data on the animals at 72 sites throughout the Colorado Rockies. American pikas are most commonly found high in the ...

one unlikely star of the Mammals Cold episode is a real-life Pokémon, the pika. There are around 30 species of pika across the globe and, like their close relatives rabbits and hares, none of ...