Poppy and I were on our walk several weeks ago when I noticed something darting across the path ahead of us. As we got closer, I realized to my surprise that it was a weasel. He darted in and out of the vegetation several times and then came out with what I thought was a little rabbit. I always have my iPhone 17Pro with me. We stayed back so as not to scare him away. I went to 8x on my phone camera. The original photo is at 8x and then I cropped it as in the edited photo. When I looked closer at the photo on my phone, I realized it was not a rabbit but a pika. I have only known pikas to be in the mountains as I have photographed them on Mt Rainier. On further research we found that they are found in the Columbia River Gorge and several countries in WA at elevations of only several hundred feet. The park we were at is about 200 feet above sea level. I reported the sighting and sent pictures to WA Dept of Fish & Wildlife. I got a message back from WDFW. They at first thought it was a pika also but finally came to the conclusion that it was a juvenile cottontail rabbit. I think a big factor in their conclusion is where the location was and I agree it would have been very unusual to see a pika there.
4 comments posted
Robert Barley
What remarkable situation. It's nature in action. We don't see these sorts of events very often, so you were fortunate to be there at the right time. The weasel was apparently not afraid of humans or dogs to be out in the open like that. It's always good to have the trusty mobile device camera with us to capture such rare moments. Nice capture.
Posted: 08/03/2026 17:31:52
Richard Sprott
Amazing luck to happen on this event! Well captured and the crop works well. Good for you sending your pics to WA Dept of Fish & Wildlife. Too bad more people aren't so thoughtful! Posted: 08/03/2026 19:40:31
Lynne Royce
Such an interesting capture. The weasel guarding its prey shows its commitment to not letting larger person and dog take it from him/her. Had to research pika as new woodland animal to me. I have loads of bunnies of all ages on my property and have to agree with you that weasel caught a pika not rabbit. The face looks different than rabbit's face plus rabbit's have long floppy ears and dead animal's ears resemble pointed ones of weasel and pika. Such a unique find and photograph to capture on walk with Poppy. Posted: 08/07/2026 15:07:59
Sol Blechman
Boy! That tells a story. Good for you. The thorough caption was very informative and I thank you for that. Posted: 08/19/2026 16:08:53
