Unbelievably Cute Mammal with Teddy Bear Face Rediscovered

Published: March 19, 2015

Source: By Carrie Arnold, National Geographic  

Link: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/03/150319-china-ili-pika-animals-conservation-science-rare-species/

Science Field: Weird & Wild

Summary

For more than 20 years, the Ili pika (Ochotona iliensis), a type of tiny, mountain-dwelling mammal, had eluded scientists in the Tianshan Mountains of northwestern China.

In 1983, the Chinese government sent Weidong Li, scientist at the Xinjiang Institute for Ecology and Geography, to the mountainous Xinjiang Province to study natural resources and infectious diseases. As Li explored a valley, he saw a small, grey head sticking out from a crack in the rock. When he was closer, he got a look at its whole body.

The animal was about 20 centimeters long, with large ears and several small brown spots in its grey fur. He was not familiarized with the species so he caught a specimen and sent it to a scientist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, who believed the pika was a new species.

At a third trip in 1985 additional specimens allowed academy researchers to confirm that the Ili pika was new to science.

Like other species of pika found in North America, the Ili pika lives at high elevations—between 2,800 to 4,100 meters—and subsists mainly on grasses, herbs, and other mountain plants.  But we do not know about the animal's ecology and behavior.

Glossary

-          Hide and seek: a children's game in which one player gives the other players a chance to hide and then tries to find them

-          Furry: made up of, resembling, or covered with fur.

-          Fur: the soft, thick, hairy coat of a mammal. Clothing; the processed pelt of certain animals, as minks or beavers, used esp. for jackets and coats.

-          Herdsman: a person who breeds, rears, or cares for cattle or (rarely) other livestock in the herd.

-          Cliff: a steep high rock face, esp one that runs along the seashore and has the strata exposed.

Review

As other high-dwelling creatures, this animal is sensitive to changes on the environment. In 1990s its population was about 2,000 individuals, and it's believed to be decreasing in number, because of grazing pressure from livestock and air pollution. China considers the species endangered. We should use the rediscovery of the animal to create conservation areas for the species.

Written by Alba Pazos