From chihuahuas to flying squirrels, there are plenty of adorable animals out there, domesticated and otherwise. And because science is so advanced at this point, you’d think that in terms of living critters on Earth, there’s not much left to discover.
While we know that there’s lots of territory to explore under the ocean’s surface, land-dwelling animals are probably all accounted for, right? Wrong. Researchers are discovering new animals and insects all the time, and one of the latest is way too cute.
What Is An Ili Pika?
Called the Ili Pika, this teddy bear-faced creature evaded scientists in the mountains of China for years and years. They had heard of it before, but had never really confirmed suspicions of its existence until fairly recently. A relative of the rabbit, the Ili Pika primarily feeds on vegetation. Researcher Li Weidong is extremely pleased by the rediscovery of the animal, but fears that we may have found it again too late. There are fewer than 1,000 of these cuties left in the wild by even the most generous estimates, making this species more endangered than the panda.
To learn more about the Ili Pika and to see some precious shots of them, check out the video below!
