bengaluru its getting too warm for pikachu up in the mountains pikachu who the cute fictional character who bounds around at top speed as part of the pokemon series of video games animated movies and comic books which are staple diet of kids under 10 the catchphrase from the series pikachu i choose you is as popular as the chubby rodentlike mammal but now there seems to be impending danger for the pika in real life this eggshaped creature found in the western himalayas is feeling the pinch of climate change in the region the life of this temperaturesensitive spec ies is under threat says a study conducted by scientists from the wildlife institute of india wii and centre for ecological sciences ces indian institute of science bengaluru the team which studied the royal pika one of the widely distributed pika species in the western himalayas from northwest pakistan up to the tibetan plateau says in the past two decades the mountain region has seen a rise in temperature of around 2 degree centigrade this has posed problems for the pika which suffers heat stress easily and this could even lead to death such temperaturesensitive spec ies will be the first to be affected by the increasing global temperature and climate change considered a relative of the rabbit and hare the pika weighing 100150 grams is an extremely active mammal pikas live in rocky structures at the base of cliffs and are preyed upon by predators like jackals foxes martens weasels and raptors unlike most mammals that live through cold winters pikas dont hibernate in the event of a climate change a warm summer might significantly restrict daytime activity of the species which can affect their survival too pikas at lower altitudes were inactive for three hours longer than those living at higher altitudes as the temperature is much warmer this indicates a behavioural thermoregulation along with physiological adaptations including higher body temperature and thick fur the study led by dr sabuj bhattacharyya of the centre for ecological sciences and wildlife institute of india and his team points out how important habitat microclimate is for these species scientists say seven of the worlds 30 species of pika are found within indias territorial limits but detailed ecological information on their ecology is scarce we dont know how these animals will respond to the rapidly changing environment in the alpine himalayas says a team member