Robert Westfall
Pacific Southwest Research Station
Dr. Millar and I were searching for pika in a boulder field on Warren Bench, above Mono Lake, California. Pikas are small mammals in the same family as rabbits. We noticed tips of pine branches on the ground. This was evidence of pika because they like to eat the tender pine branches. Then, I found more pine tips hidden in the rocks. Dr. Millar and I wondered how the little pika got the pine tips because most of the pine branches were so high off the ground. I looked in a clump of pines up from the rocks—no clipped tips on the ground. Then I looked at a bunch of clipped pine branches that were 6 feet off the ground. The little pika had scampered across the deep snow that spring to collect the needles and tender spring buds.
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Additional Resources
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USDA Forest Service: Robert Westfall
Learn more about Robert Westfall's research at his Forest Service profile page.Visit Profile
