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Daisetsuzan NP, Hokkaido
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During an Ice Age, Ezo pikas likely crossed from Eurasia via Sakhalin on exposed land. Rising seas and a warmer climate later isolated them in Hokkaido’s mountain refuges, including Shikaribetsu.
Shikaribetsu’s volcanic rubble hides natural chillers: even in midsummer, air emerging from windholes can be about 2°C. These cool, damp pockets let moss and alpine plants thrive—and help sustain pika habitat.
Ezo pikas don’t hibernate. From late summer into early winter, they carry leaves, stems, flowers, ferns and moss into rock crevices, drying the plants there to make a pantry for the long winter.
Though mouse-like, pikas were once nicknamed “iwa-nezumi” (rock mouse) and “gonbo-nezumi.” They’re actually rabbit relatives, not rodents; their doubled upper incisors are the giveaway.
A 15-cm pika’s call is far louder than its size suggests: a sharp “pii” or “pichii” that carries across Shikaribetsu’s rocky slopes. Its voice may reveal one hidden between the stones.
A 1999 study found only old droppings and food stores at 2 sites near Shikaribetsu’s lakeside tunnel, which opened in 1994. Researchers judged construction likely erased that local colony; noise, vibration or windhole damage were possible causes.
Local guides report that trampling has thinned moss and plants on some Shikaribetsu pika slopes; even pounding rocks can stress the animals. The geopark asks visitors to stay on paths and move quietly.
