Found only in the rocky slopes of China’s Tianshan Mountains, this shy creature is barely ever seen.
Interesting Fact: There are fewer than 1,000 left in the wild, making it even rarer than pandas!
Photo by Li Weidong
Pikas as a whole are pretty cute. Run into them a lot in the Rockies.
It’s funny that Pikachu is one of the most recognizable characters in the world but many people have no idea this animal exists
Well, most of them are only found at very high altitude so it’s not a type of animal most people would run into. Also Pikachu’s name is unrelated to these. It comes from pikapika (sparkling, but colloquially clean or new) + chu (reading for mouse). I usually hear pika pronounced PIE-kuh but wikipedia says PEE-kuh is also valid.
There are also Pika in North America.
Maybe a specific type of Pika that’s in China? I saw them quite frequently above treeline when in Colorado.
Edit: it is indeed a different species of pika. Still just as cute!
