Washington mammals

American Pika in Washington

Ochotona princeps

Native to Washington S5 Secure in Washington

Not listed as nonindigenous in Washington by USGS NAS; native to its Washington 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 Washington, by the numbers

Common in Washington 16th most recorded of 145 mammals logged in Washington

2,506 occurrence records
2,424 with iNaturalist photos
Jul 11, 2026 Last seen in Washington

Records from 2000–2026.

2,506 total records count every Washington occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300; the monthly chart covers the 2,406 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the American Pika in Washington

Most sightings fall in August to September.

2,406 Washington occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence.

Monthly Washington records (table)
MonthRecords
January2
February1
March5
April11
May74
June134
July475
August858
September562
October252
November31
December1

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

Seasonality

Year-round in Washington, with recorded sightings peaking in August–September.

Occurrence map

Where American Pika has been recorded in Washington

300 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

300 Washington records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Mount Rainier National Park 699
Alpine Lakes Wilderness 479
North Cascades National Park 107
Mount Baker Wilderness 80
Goat Rocks Wilderness 38
Glacier Peak Wilderness 30
Henry M. Jackson Wilderness 21
Pasayten Wilderness 16

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 Washington

CountyRecords
Pierce County 647
King County 502
Chelan County 228
Lewis County 187
Whatcom County 171
Kittitas County 132
Skagit County 120
Snohomish County 112
Skamania County 106
Okanogan County 97
Yakima County 61
Pend Oreille County 21
5 other counties 122

The complete county distribution, spread across 17 Washington counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

American pika records highlight Washington’s cool, rocky high country, particularly Mount Rainier and North Cascades national parks, with an eastern extension into Colville National Forest. The cluster follows accessible talus and alpine routes where observers can detect pikas; it does not identify the state’s densest colonies.

Reports exist year-round but are concentrated from July through October, when high-elevation access is easiest and pika calls are often noticed. The seasonal curve therefore describes documented encounters, not a rise in pika abundance.

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 Washington 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"