In today’s world, there are many animals that we have not discovered or heard of. And there are also animals that people have only heard of and then disappear without leaving any trace. The same goes for Ili Pika rabbits. It was not until more than two decades later that scientists had the opportunity to photograph this animal.
With less than 1,000 individuals remaining, the Ili pika rabbit is one of the most endangered species in the world. They are even considered more rare than pandas.
The Ili pika rabbit is a species of mammal in the Ochotona family of the order Hare, endemic to northwestern China. Ili Pika rabbits live in the Tianshan mountains of Xinjiang, China. In addition, they are also found in the northwestern United States and western Canada.
Ili pika is only found at altitudes of 2,800 – 4,000 meters. Ili pika rabbits are about 20cm long, weigh about 180 grams and have large ears. They have gray-brown fur, short limbs, cute round ears, and bear-like faces. At first glance, Ili pika rabbits look as adorable as teddy bears. Their food is mainly plants growing around. The enemies of Ili Pika rabbits are foxes, weasels, raptors,…
Ili pika rabbits often seek food in the summer. They will use all the time during this warm period to store food for the cold winter. According to scientists’ statistics, an Ili pika rabbit will make 10,000 trips during the summer to accumulate 25 kg of food.
However, there are many Ili pika rabbits who are “lazy” by “stealing” other rabbits’ food. Because of this odd habit, they have another nickname, “lovely thief”.
The person who discovered the Ili pika rabbit was Mr. Ly Duy Dong in 1983. He then decided to name it after his hometown, Ili. Mr. Ly recalled the first time he encountered an Ili pika. “I climbed a mountain for 4 hours. I was stopping to breathe, when suddenly I saw the shadow of a tiny creature running by. I sat down on some rocks, then a pair of rabbit ears popped up from the gap in the surrounding rocks. The little animal looked at me and blinked. I thought this was a beautiful and strange animal the best I’ve ever seen. I couldn’t believe my eyes.”
Scientists have done statistics on Ili pika, and they estimate that the number of Ili pika rabbits has decreased from 2,900 in the 90s to 2,000 in 2005. Now there are probably only about 1,000 left. According to scientists, since it was discovered, the number of this species has decreased by 70%.
“Small animals can become extinct at any time. They will no longer exist in the places where they lived before,” Mr. Ly shared with CNN.
Ili pika originally lived at an altitude of about 3,200-3,400 m, but now they have climbed to places as high as 4,100 m. In 2008, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classified them as endangered animals, but no organization or group of experts has intended to study or protect them.
Global air pollution, climate change and increased grazing pressure are believed to be the main threats to this species. Another reason is that the presence of too many humans in the areas at the foot of the mountains has caused their living area to gradually shrink.
