I have stopped growing, that is for certain; I am a full-grown American Pika at 6½ inches! I have always been different but I have never seen a Pika so small. However, in the end, being so small saved my life. My brother and I were collecting food some ways off from the rocks. Truly, the only form of emergency shelter was a small rock sticking out of the ground at an angle. The signal was late. Father, who was watching for predators, was distracted by Naira who was proposing a new addition for more stores in the burrow. Too late he noticed the Hawk; too late he gave to two sharp urgent barks of warning.