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 22nd most recorded of 123 mammals logged in Idaho

679 occurrence records
224 with iNaturalist photos
Jul 7, 2026 Last seen in Idaho

Records from 2000–2026.

679 total records count every Idaho occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300.

When to look for the American Pika in Idaho

Most sightings fall in July to August.

679 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
June41
July239
August324
September52
October22
November1
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 48
Sawtooth National Recreation Area 27
Coeur d'Alene National Forest 17
Hells Canyon Wilderness 17
Frank Church-River Of No Return Wilderness 14
Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness 10
Craters of the Moon National Monument 10
Gospel-Hump Wilderness 9

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 156
Adams County 98
Blaine County 88
Idaho County 60
Boundary County 44
Shoshone County 42
Bear Lake County 33
Lemhi County 27
Butte County 26
Franklin County 21
Elmore County 18
Valley County 16
11 other counties 50

The complete county distribution, spread across 23 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 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"