Warming may threaten the pika

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says the American pika — a hamster-size mammal of the West that some worry is threatened by global warming — may need federal protections.

The agency said Wednesday that environmentalists' petitions to list the pika under the Endangered Species Act contained enough information to take a closer look. Federal officials will now launch a thorough review of the species and submit findings by Feb. 1, 2010.

The pika mostly dwells in high, rocky mountain slopes in 10 Western states. As the West warms, scientists say some pikas have tried to move up-slope to find cooler refuges but have run out of room.

If the pika is eventually listed, it could be the first species in the lower 48 states to get protections primarily because of threats of climate change.

— Associated Press