Video: Rare Ili Pika Appears On Video For First Time Ever

For the first time over 20 years, scientists have spotted and recorded on video for the very first time the illusive Ili pika.

Ili pika are tiny mammals that make home way up in the cliff faces of the Tian Shan mountains in northwestern China. Business Insider reports they were first discovered by Xinjiang Institute for Ecology and Geography scientist Weidong Li in 1983, and later confirmed as a new species in 1985.

The original discovery was somewhat unexpected, that combined with the animals adorably distinct ears, lead to the animals nickname “magic rabbit.”

Today, the plant-eating mammal is making headlines once again, this time by making it’s long awaited video debut, but this exciting news also comes with a warning from Li.

Here’s the little critter’s famous world debut:

Now, here’s the gloom part of this story.

As many mountain-dwelling species are, Ili pika are threatened by climate change, and Li says it may be only a matter of time before these animals “top out” in elevation and will have nowhere to go.

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