Definition of "pika" [pi•ka]

• Any of several small, tailless, furry mammals of the genus Ochotona of the mountains of North America and Eurasia, resembling guinea pigs but belonging to the order of lagomorphs that includes the hares and rabbits. Also called coney1, rock rabbit. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "This occurs despite warnings from conservation scientists that the pika is a keystone species? meaning its removal would have far-reaching consequences including a scarcity of food for mammals and birds that feed on it."
• "The argument that the pika is a pest, degrading rangeland and reducing food stocks for yak and sheep, is not supported by any evidence."
• "In the controversial Lighting Up the Sky over Hiroshima (2009), Chim Pom created the Japanese word pika (sparkling light), seen in the sky from an aeroplane, reminding Hiroshima residents of the atomic bomb."