A small, rabbit-like animal in US may soon have something in common with the polar bear.

The US Fish and Wildlife Service is considering whether the American pika (Ochotona princeps) should be protected under the endangered species act. If the FWS says it should then the pika will become the first animal outside of Alaska to be afforded this protection, and the only mammal other than the polar bear (San Francisco Chronicle).

However the FWS only agreed to assess the pika after being taken to court by environmental groups. “All the evidence we have suggests global warming will cause the species to go extinct and many populations have already been wiped out,” Greg Loarie, an attorney for Earthjustice group, told Reuters.

The problem is that pikas are hugely intolerant of temperature changes, and cannot actually survive outside their burrows if temperatures rise above 26 degrees Celsius, according to Earthjustice (SF Chronicle)

“Pika populations are in jeopardy, and we can’t afford to delay protections,” says Shaye Wolf, a biologist with the Center for Biological Diversity (press release). “As temperatures rise, pika populations at lower elevations are being driven to extinction, pushing pikas further upslope until they have nowhere left to go.”

Image: Earthjustice.