If you have spare time on your hands, here’s an idea for you: Pika watching for the Oregon Zoo.

The zoo seeks American pika watchers for summer, as the program returns with “science, hiking and cuteness in the Columbia River Gorge,” publicity says.

Cascades Pika Watch is a collaboration between organizations and volunteers convened by the zoo to locate and map pika populations. On May 8-10, the zoo is offering free crash courses on how to identify pikas and participate in the project.

Pikas are potato-sized members of the rabbit family, known for their squeak-toy alarm calls frequently heard among the rocky slopes of the Cascade volcanoes throughout the Columbia River Gorge.

“Pikas live in beautiful places where people love to hike, and their charm level is off the charts, so they’re really an ideal species for participatory science,” said Dr. Johanna Varner, Cascades Pika Watch scientific advisor. “They’re also listed as a sensitive species by the state of Oregon, which is why we need a better understanding of how their populations and habitat could be changing.”

Pikas’ particular habitat and temperature requirements may make them especially vulnerable to a warming climate — and especially interesting to biologists studying the effects of climate change. Pika Watch volunteers helped document the gorge population’s recovery following the 2017 Eagle Creek fire, and they’re eager to learn more.

This year, volunteers will begin monitoring sites at the edges of the pika’s core habitat, where the Gorge passes into the dry, eastern rain shadow of the Cascades. The data could provide an early warning of changes that may occur elsewhere, allowing land managers to take action before widespread declines occur.

More: oregonzoo.org.