 Northern pikas do not hibernate and can tunnel under the snow to reach their caches and visit areas where there are twigs and other plant material still available.Some time is spent grooming the fur of the head and face with the forepaws and scratching the head and front part of the body with the hind feet.Apart from settling the fur and removing external parasites, these activities may serve to spread the secretions of the apocrine glands onto the paws for territory marking.