Beijing ( CNN ) Native to a remote region of China , this tiny mammal , known as the Ili pika , does n't know it 's a member of an endangered species -- and neither do most people . Rarer -- and some would argue cuter -- than the panda , there are less than 1,000 of these teddy bear-like creatures living in the Tianshan mountain range in the Xinjiang region of northwestern China , says conservationist Li Weidong . Li discovered the pika , formally known as Ochotona iliensis , in 1983 and named it after his hometown , Ili . Last July , Li spotted and photographed the elusive creature for the first time since the early 1990s . He estimates its numbers have declined by almost 70 % since its discovery . `` I discovered the species , and I watched as it became endangered , '' he told CNN . `` If it becomes extinct in front of me , I 'll feel so guilty . '' In 2008 , the animal was listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature but there 's no official organization or team dedicated studying or protecting it , according to Li . The mammal , only 20 centimeters long , lives on sloping bare rock faces and feeds on grasses at high elevations . Li says the pika 's habitat has been affected by global warming . 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 said . Ili pikas were originally found at elevations between 3,200 to 3,400 meters , he said . Now they have retreated to elevations of 4,100 meters . `` They have nowhere else to retreat , '' he added . It 's also a solitary animal and is not as vocal as other pika species , so if predators are near , Ili pikas are not able to alert each other , Li said . Disease may also be a factor in its decline . In 1983 , when Li first came across the mammal , nobody knew what it was . Two years later , Li found another two and it was declared a new species . In the decade following , Li and his colleagues conducted a number of studies , including a census at 14 different sites . However , in 1992 , Li left Ili to work with Xinjiang Academy of Environmental Protection in the regional capital Urumqi . No studies were conducted on Ili pika in the following decade . No one saw the pika , either . In 2002 and 2003 , Li , with a team of volunteers , conducted a fresh census . Despite spending 37 days searching the mountains for the pikas on seven separate trips , they came up empty handed . However , by analyzing droppings and snow tracks , Li , along with Arizona State University biologist Andrew Smith , was able to conclude that the Ili pika population had seen a dramatic decline . Together they calculated that there might be 2,000 mature animals , down from 2,900 in the early 1990s . The research , published in 2005 , recommended that the animal should be listed as endangered . In 2007 , Li retired early to throw himself into searching for the pika . Last year , he organized a group of 20 volunteers to conduct another survey with infrared cameras . This time , on the second day of the field trip , they finally spotted a pika , who jumped and stepped over Li 's feet while he was trying to photograph it . The volunteers dubbed it a `` magic rabbit . '' They concluded that there were fewer than 1,000 Ili pikas , said Li . `` This tiny species could be extinct any time , '' he said . `` They do n't exist in the sites where they used to be anymore . '' Li funds the research with himself , along with donations and occasional grants from organizations like the World Wide Fund for Nature . He says he has spent more than $ 32,000 of his own money over the past three decades and he has to raise funds to pay for gas . But what upsets Li most is n't the lack of funding . It 's the lack of official recognition for the Ili , and other pikas ' plight . The Ili pika is n't included on China 's List of Wildlife under Special State Protection -- part of the country 's 1988 Wildlife Protection Law . The Department for Wildlife and Forest Plants Protection , under the Ministry of Forestry , said it was in the process of updating the list but declined to give any further details . Li and his volunteers have been calling for the establishment of a nature reserve to help protect the animal . `` I 'm almost 60 , and soon I wo n't be able to climb the Tianshan Mountains , '' he said . `` So I really hope that an organization will have people study and protect the Ili Pika . ''
There are less than 1000 Ili pikas in existence , says Li Weidong . The Ili is a small antelope that lives on the Tibetan plateau and has been extinct for more than 100 years.