Ili pika is a native to a remote region in China.
They live in Tianshan mountain range in China.
There are less than 1000 of these teddy bear like mammals.
It was formerly known as Ochotona iliensis, in 1983.
This teddy bear like mammal is discovered by Weidong Li and he named the mammal after his hometown Ili.
In july 2014, for the first time Li caught the pika on camera since early 1990s.
In 2012 and 2013 two researches went to 12 different sites to study the population of pika, after 37 days of searching they couldn’t spot even a single pika.
These animals live in high altitudes making it susceptible to climate changes.
In 1990 the population was estimated to be 2000 since then the population is decreasing.
It is listed as an endangered species in International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Ili pikas are solitary animals and isn’t vocal as other pikas species so if the danger is nearby they are unable to alert each other.
Not only climate change but disease may also be a factor for the decline in population.