A new species has come to the forefront of people's attentions recently. The Ili Pika, an animal native to a remote region of China, is a tiny mammal whose cuteness rivals that of a panda. However, its number may be dwindling dangerously low.

While many would debate about how it could be cuter than a panda or a rabbit, no one can dispute the fact that it is rarer than either of those. The numbers of pandas on this world are already low, with the Ili Pika's even lower.

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There are less than 1,000 of these teddy-bear-like creatures in the Tianshan mountain range in the Xinjiang region of northwestern China as reported by conservationist Li Weidong.

Li discovered these furry cuties way back in 1983. He named them after his hometown, Ili. They are formerly known as Ochotana Iliensis.

Last July, Li was able to photograph these creatures for the first time since the 90s. Upon seeing the animals, Li says that their numbers have declined by as much as 70 percent of their total population since they were discovered.

The mammal is recorded as growing to only 20 centimeters long. It lives on bare rock slopes and eats grasses located in high altitudes.

However, with the onset of global warming, the habitats of the Ili Pika's have been affected.

The rising temperatures in the world have melted glaciers. This has caused the altitudes of permanent snow to rise in the Tianshan mountains. Li says that the Pika had no choice but to retreat to the mountain tops.

They were initially found 3,200 to 3,400 meters from the ground. Now they can be found 4,100 meters high.

Apart from that, the fact that the Pika is not a very vocal mammal means that if a predator is nearby, then the species has little to no chance of alerting one another.

Li is still very hands on with caring for these animals, but lack the support from the big organizations. He has mostly been using his own money to fund expeditions and studies, but hope that others can help out.

At 60 years old, time is running out for the Pika's and Li, as he may be too old to climb the mountains soon.

TagsIli Pika, Magic Rabbit