In 1983, Mr. Li Weidong discovered the "magic" rabbit for the first time. For the past 30 years, the 60-year-old conservationist has been collecting documents to raise awareness about this endangered species.
The "magic" rabbit, also known as the Ili Pika, is currently only found in China and has a population of about 1000, which is less than that of pandas.
""I climbed the mountain in four hours.During my break, I saw the shadow of a creature running past. I sat down next to a rock, and suddenly two rabbit ears popped up from a crack in the rock. It looked at me, blinking. I couldn't believe it; it was the most beautiful and strange creature I had ever seen," Mr. Li said, recalling the day he first met the magic rabbit.
Back home, he researched all available information about the rabbit to determine what kind of animal it was. He identified it as a member of the pika species, small rabbit-like mammals with short limbs and round ears.
But the pikas Mr. Li saw had three brown stripes on their forehead and around their neck. After three years of research, he named the creature the Ili Pika after the place he had seen it, in Ili province, western Xinjiang, China.
The magic rabbit, also known as the Ili Pika, has the scientific name Ochotona iliensis. This animal lives in rock holes at altitudes ranging from 2800 to 4000m.
They prefer to live in extremely cold plateaus and eat herbs. Ili pikas are often found in the mountains of Tianshan, Xinjiang, China.
After the discovery of this rabbit species, Mr. Li and other conservationists decided not to publicize information about the mountainous area for conservation purposes.
Over the past 30 years, the habitat of the Ili Pika has decreased by 71%. This is partly due to climate change, but also because the grazing of cattle by people in the mountains has caused the living area of magic rabbits to shrink, forcing them to live in isolated mountains.
Mr. Li last saw the Ili Pika in 1990. It was not until recently that he saw the rabbit again. After the information about the magical rabbit species was revealed, many people became interested in finding them.
However, this fame also means more danger for the Ili Pika, as they are already preyed upon by foxes, weasels, and birds, and now humans too.
Watching the video below:
