Who’s the fluffiest of them all? Vote for your favorite pika in the San Juans

DURANGO, Colo. — Move over, Fat Bear Week. It's time for Colorado's tiny mountain dwellers to take the spotlight.

Mountain Studies Institute is hosting its first Fat Pika Week, a competition featuring eight pikas photographed by volunteers in the San Juan Mountains. The contestants face off in head-to-head voting rounds.

Public voting is underway and runs through Oct. 8.

The idea came from an MSI volunteer who was inspired by the popularity of Katmai National Park’s Fat Bear Week — and Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory's inaugural Fat Marmot Week — and suggested a similar competition for pikas, MSI executive director Molly McKeon said.

But unlike bears or marmots, pikas don't actually fatten up for winter hibernation.

These small, rabbit-like mammals stay active throughout the winter, living in tunnels beneath rocks and snow. During the summer, they gather grasses and wildflowers into large haypiles, which provide food during the colder months.

Beyond their adorable appearance, pikas play an important role in helping scientists understand climate change.

Pikas are highly sensitive to heat and changes in snowpack. Monitoring their populations can help researchers understand how warming temperatures are affecting mountain ecosystems.

Since 2009, MSI has organized PikaNet, a volunteer-powered program that monitors pika populations in southwest Colorado. McKeon said the program relies entirely on volunteers and donations. Although MSI has collected years of monitoring data, the organization still needs funding to analyze the findings and publish a report.

Fat Pika Week aims to raise awareness of the animals and generate support for the research.

You can vote for your favorite contestants here.