Contribute your pika photos to the American Pika Atlas!

Your photographs can help scientists track where pikas persist across their range

Did you snap a photo of a pika on your last alpine hiking trip? If so it could help scientists track where pikas persist and where they may be disappearing. Pikas are chirpy relatives of rabbits that live on mountaintops throughout the North American West. American pikas are thought to occur in 2 countries, 12 states (or Canadian provinces) and 276 counties (or Canadian regional districts).

To track where pikas persist, we need your help. The American Pika Atlas is a continent-wide effort to collect observations of pikas in every US county and Canadian district where they are thought to occur. The project is supported by the North American Pika Consortium, the California Department of Fish and Game, and the Front Range Pika Project and is curated by a team of pika researchers.

Your photo might confirm that a poorly studied population of pikas still persists, or you might make a new discovery outside the known pika range. You might not know until you get involved, contribute your photos today!

How can I contribute my observations?
To get started, follow these four easy steps:

1. Visit www.inaturalist.org/projects/american-pika-atlas and click 'add observations'.
2. Log in to iNaturalist.org the engine behind the American Pika Atlas with your Facebook, Twitter, Google, or Yahoo account.
3. Upload your pika photo from your hard-disk or link to your photo that's already on Facebook, Flickr, or Picasa.
4. Add a date, geographic coordinates, identify your observation as American pika, and click 'Save observation'.

American pika (Ochotona princeps)
Photo: Lynette Schimming

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