Pikas in GURPS

Ochotona sp.

Pikas are small lagomorphs with small, rounded ears. They live in cold climates, usually inhabiting jumbled rocks that have slid down mountain sides although some species that live in high altitude steppe-plateaus will dig burrows. If alarmed, they give a high pitched whistling alarm call before diving into their burrows. These animals are diurnal or crepuscular. During the plentiful days of summer, pikas will gather grass to make hay, which they store to feed them over the winter since they do not hibernate. Eurasian pikas often live together in family groups, American pikas are more solitary.

There are many different species of pika, ranging in mass from about 0.15 to 0.3 kg. In some species the males are slightly larger than the females, in others both sexes are the same size. They reach their highest diversity in the mountains of central Asia, but are also found in Siberia, eastern Europe, and North America.

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