Idaho mammals

American Pika in Idaho

Ochotona princeps

Native to Idaho S3 Vulnerable in Idaho

Not listed as nonindigenous in Idaho by USGS NAS; native to its Idaho range.

IUCN Red List status

  1. LC
  2. NT
  3. VU
  4. EN
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX

LC – Least Concern

Widespread and abundant; not at risk.

American pika perched on a talus rock with a mouthful of alpine wildflowersAmerican pika perched atop a lichen-covered talus boulderAmerican pika standing on rock with a blade of grass in its mouthAmerican pika camouflaged among granite talus bouldersAmerican pika hopping between rocks with a mouthful of grass
Photo: Frédéric Dulude-de Broin · CC BY-SA 4.0American pika perched on a talus rock with a mouthful of alpine wildflowersPhoto: James St. John · CC BY 2.0American pika perched atop a lichen-covered talus boulderPhoto: sevenstar · Public domainAmerican pika standing on rock with a blade of grass in its mouthPhoto: Vaughn Michael Shirey · CC0American pika camouflaged among granite talus bouldersPhoto: Hunter Hickok · CC BY 4.0American pika hopping between rocks with a mouthful of grass

American Pika in Idaho, by the numbers

Common in Idaho 17th most recorded of 123 mammals logged in Idaho

325 occurrence records
239 with iNaturalist photos
Jul 7, 2026 Last seen in Idaho

Records from 2000–2026.

325 total records count every Idaho occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300; the monthly chart covers the 315 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the American Pika in Idaho

Most sightings fall in July to August.

315 Idaho occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence.

Monthly Idaho records (table)
MonthRecords
January0
February0
March0
April0
May0
June28
July93
August142
September34
October18
November0
December0

Monthly american pika occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Idaho, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in Idaho, with recorded sightings peaking in July–August.

Occurrence map

Where American Pika has been recorded in Idaho

300 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

300 Idaho records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Sawtooth Wilderness 53
Hells Canyon Wilderness 13
Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness 8
Cecil D. Andrus-White Clouds Wilderness 8
Frank Church-River Of No Return Wilderness 7
Hemingway-Boulders Wilderness 6
Sawtooth National Recreation Area 5
Coeur d'Alene National Forest 4

Protected places with the most american pika sightings, from the USGS Protected Areas Database plus named mountain ranges, good spots to look, not a full breakdown, so they don't sum to the total.

Where it's recorded in Idaho

CountyRecords
Custer County 82
Blaine County 47
Boundary County 38
Adams County 30
Idaho County 21
Elmore County 18
Valley County 14
Lemhi County 12
Shoshone County 10
Boise County 8
Bonner County 7
Bonneville County 5
8 other counties 33

The complete county distribution, spread across 20 Idaho counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

American pikas live in cool talus and broken rock across Idaho’s higher ranges. In the Sawtooths, Bitterroots, and mountains of the Caribou-Targhee and Clearwater country, pause beside boulder fields to listen for a short, sharp call and watch for clipped vegetation gathered into haypiles.

Pikas do not hibernate, but deep snow makes winter detection difficult. July and August dominate reports because high-country access is best then and animals are visibly collecting plants; observe from stable trails rather than crossing fragile talus.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

American Pika in other states

American pika perched on a talus rock with a mouthful of alpine wildflowers
Full species profile American Pika Ochotona princeps Size 19 cm7.5 in Weight 140 g4.9 oz Lifespan Up to 7 yr View the full profile

More mammals in Idaho in the atlas

Data & sources

The data and visualizations on this page draw on these open sources:

  • GBIFCC-BY 4.0occurrence records behind the range map, elevation, and record counts
  • iNaturalistCC0 / CC-BY / CC-BY-SAobservations, photos, and audio recordings
  • NatureServe ExplorerCC-BYthe state conservation rank
  • IUCN Red Listattributed factthe global conservation status
  • USGS NASpublic domainnative / introduced status
  • Natural Earthpublic domainthe relief basemap
  • USFSpublic domainnational-forest boundaries
  • USGS Protected Areas Databasepublic domainthe named parks, forests, and refuges behind "notable places to look"