A rare, tiny and elusive relative of the rabbit, known as the Ili pika, is now being feared of going extinct. Known in China as "Magic Rabbit" or "Magic Bunny," the endangered animal is about to pay the price of fame after photos and news reports about it went viral earlier this year.

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For the first time in two decades, National Geographic's China edition was able to publish pictures of the Ili pika. The species is endemic in the Xinjiang region of northwestern China. With similar looks and features to a rabbit, China's magic bunny has shorter ears and large rusty-red spots on its forehead, crown and neck, HNGN has learned.

Unfortunately, the Ili pika is now facing the threat of extinction as its fame and cuteness drive humans to want them as pets, Daily Mail reported. Climate change is also another factor that is responsible for Ili pika's impending extinction. As mountaintop glaciers melt, the Chinese magic rabbits have to climb to higher elevations to find a permanent snowy habitat. But soon, they may have nowhere else to go.  

In 1983, conservationist Li Weidong discovered the species, known as Ochotona iliensis, but only documented it in 2014. Since then, he has been closely monitoring the Ili pika. According to Popular Science, Li, together with another unnamed scientist, analyzed tracks and droppings that led them to estimate the decline in the population of China's magic rabbit.

In the '90s, Li estimated that there were about 2,900 Ili pikas in the wild but in 2005, only 2,000 magic rabbits have been documented. And while it is considered a relatively new species, it's already considered endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature because of the rapid population decline in 2008.

Today, only a thousand Ili pikas are believed to be left living in the Tianshan mountain range in China. And Li revealed that these animals are now facing threats as companies offered him funding in exchange of catching and artificially breeding them, KSPR noted.

"Ili pikas, as alpine animals, can't adapt to the environment at low elevations without special facilities," Li told CNN. "Would they survive? Their population is already small enough. Human capture will accelerate the extinction."

For years, Li has called for Ili Pika to be listed on China's List of Wildlife under Special State Protection. But to this day, the animal has not yet been included on the list.

TagsMagic Rabbit, endangered species, extinction, Science