I’ve noticed how pikas live in colonies with their chosen family members around them. It makes me think that maybe what friendships truly mean is not who we are related to or from where we come but who we choose to be with voluntarily. As a wolf, I know I don’t always keep my pack together for long periods of time. Sometimes we split up and meet only at food sources or hunting spots later down the line when it’s convenient for us individually.
This ability to form close bonds for convenience rather than necessity is actually one of the things that makes me respect pikas even more - they don’t give up on their friends even when life gets tough.
I agree with this wolf, pikas and arctic hares must be desperate for companionship if they voluntarily associate with each other. In reality, their colonies are just a temporary convenience so they can scrounge around for the same scraps of plants before the harsh winters hit. As it stands now, as long as there’s food to go around and a relatively safe place to live, who cares about any supposed “friendships”.