article_snippet: Li Weidong discovered the pika, formally known as Ochotona iliensis, in 1983 and named it after Li Weidong hometown, Ili.
article_snippet: Li Weidong says the pika's habitat has been affected by global warming.
article_snippet: Due to rising temperatures, glaciers have receded and the altitude of permanent snow has risen in the Tianshan mountains, forcing the pikas to gradually retreat to mountain tops, Li Weidong said.
article_snippet: Ili pikas were originally found at elevations between 3,200 to 3,400 meters, Li Weidong said.
article_snippet: Now Ili pikas have retreated to elevations of 4,100 meters.
article_snippet: Ili pikas have nowhere else to retreat," Li Weidong added.
article_snippet: Despite spending 37 days searching the mountains for the pikas on seven separate trips, Li and his colleagues came up empty handed.
article_snippet: In 2007, Li Weidong retired early to throw Li Weidong into searching for Ili pika.
article_snippet: This time, on the second day of the field trip, they finally spotted a pika, who jumped and stepped over Li Weidong's feet while Li Weidong was trying to photograph it.