(Li & Smith, 2019)

Since the Ili pika is only found in one location and native to one place, it is considered an endemic species (Fowler et al., 2013). Found at altitudes of 2,800 to 4,100 meters, the Ili pika occurs in a highly restricted geographic range in two spurs of the Tian Shan Mountains in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of northwest China (International Union for Conservation of Nature, 2019; Li & Smith, 2005). Endemic species with highly restricted distributions are especially vulnerable to extinction, or the disappearance of a species from Earth (Fowler et al., 2013). Species are more prone to extinction when they have a limited geographic range as many individuals can simultaneously experience chance events, such as habitat loss, droughts, floods or the negative effects of invasive species, which ultimately harm the population (Marshall & Bean, 2023). Further, species with small population sizes are more susceptible to extinction because they are more likely to lack the genetic diversity, or the variety of genes and alleles in a species, taxonomic group or ecosystem, required to adapt to changing environmental conditions (Fowler et al., 2013; Marshall & Bean, 2023).

According to Li and Smith (2019), it is estimated that there are less than 1,000 living Ili pikas. Upon its discovery in 1983, the Ili pika species occupied 14 locations of the Tian Shan Mountains, with 12 locations in the north spur and two locations in the south spur; presently, the Ili pika occupies only four of these sites (Li & Smith, 2019). It is predicted that the Ili pika has been extirpated from the Jilimalale, Hutubi South Mountains, Jipuk South and Telimati Daban localities and a population decrease has been observed in the regions of Jipuk and Tianger Apex as well (Li & Smith, 2005; Li & Smith, 2019). Generally, the Ili pika population is severely fragmented with a very low population density and continuing decline of mature individuals (Li & Smith, 2019). Li and Smith (2019) suggest that the Ili pika population has decreased by over 50% since its initial discovery.

IUCN STATUS AND PROTECTIONS

(International Union for Conservation of Nature, 2022)

Biodiversity, defined as the variety of a biological system, typically measures the number of species and the number of individuals within those species (Fowler et al., 2013). As the most comprehensive information source on the extinction risk status of species around the globe, the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species is a vital indicator of the planet’s biodiversity (International Union for Conservation of Nature, 2022). The IUCN Red List is intended to be an easily understood system for categorizing high-risk species, with each classified into one of nine categories: (a), Not Evaluated; (b) Data Deficient; (c) Least Concern; (d) Near Threatened; (e) Vulnerable; (f) Endangered; (g) Critically Endangered; (h) Extinct in the Wild; and (i) Extinct (Lagomorph Specialist Group, n.d.).

The Ili pika is classified as Endangered under criteria A2abc (Li & Smith, 2019). The International Union for Conservation of Nature (2022) states that a taxon is considered Endangered when evidence indicates that it meets any of the criteria for the Endangered category and therefore faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild.

It is important to note that the IUCN Red List does not have a legal status; therefore, assessment and classification of a species does not imply that it is protected by law in a specific region (International Union for Conservation of Nature, 2022). However, the Ili pika is regionally categorized as Endangered in China in the 2016 Red List of China’s Vertebrates (Li & Smith, 2019). According to the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China (2021), under the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Wildlife, the Chinese government is required to provide special protection under the law for threatened, endangered and rare species. The specifics of the given legal protection is dependent on the administration’s locality (Embassy of the People’s Republic of China, 2021).

WHY IS THE ILI PIKA

SPECIES DECLINING?

The core threats to biodiversity on the planet are human population growth and the subsequent unsustainable removal of resources from the environment; thus, the Ili pika species and biodiversity as a whole share two significant threats: habitat loss and anthropogenic, meaning human-caused, climate change (Fowler et al., 2013). While the definite causes for observed Ili pika population declines are not known, it has been speculated that global atmospheric pollution resulting in climate change and grazing pressure leading to habitat loss are the two factors most negatively impacting the species (Li & Smith, 2019). Impeding the ability of the Ili pika to recover from declines are its low population density, low reproductive rate and limited ability to disperse (Li & Smith, 2005).

CLIMATE CHANGE

During even a short period of above-average temperatures, the Ili pika is susceptible to overheating and dying of hyperthermia as a result of its high metabolism (MacDonald, 2017). Due to its natural temperature sensitivity, the pika is considered an indicator species of global climate change, meaning it is a species chosen as an indicator of the state of an ecosystem or certain process within that ecosystem (Li & Smith, 2015; World Wildlife Fund, 2020). Upon its discovery, the Ili pika was initially found at elevations between 3,200 and 3,400 meters; however, recent surveys show that the species has retreated to 4,100 meters (International Union for Conservation of Nature, 2019).

In the Tian Shan Mountains, glaciers are receding at rapid rates and the altitude of permanent snow is rising due to increasing temperatures in the region (Li & Smith, 2019). According to Li and Smith (2005), the Ili pika has lived in cold, high-altitude areas since the Glacial Epoch of the Quaternary period 2.6 million years ago and has gradually retreated to higher elevations. As Li and Smith (2005) specifically observed in the Jilimalale location, the Ili pikas have nowhere to go as warming temperatures force them to live higher on the mountain. The increasing temperatures driving alpine species upslope where there is less habitat is causing widespread extinctions of many species (Li & Smith, 2005; Li & Smith, 2019).

HABITAT LOSS

When the Ili pika was discovered in 1983, its isolated habitat was unoccupied by people and no livestock were grazed at elevations greater than 3,000 meters in the region (Li & Smith, 2005; Li & Smith, 2015). Increasing human population pressure has since caused pastoralists to graze their sheep and horses at higher elevations in the Tian Shan Mountains, encroaching on the habitat of the Ili pika (Li & Smith, 2005). The livestock eat alpine vegetation, resulting in a subsequent deterioration of pika habitat quality (Li & Smith, 2019). Further, most pastoralists in the area own mastiffs that have become a predator of the Ili pika (Li & Smith, 2005). Also, circling back to climate change, the flat pasture occupied by pastoralists and their livestock at the top of the cliff-face habitat blocks the pika from migrating vertically in response to increasing temperatures (Li & Smith, 2005).

SAVING THE ILI PIKA

(Lagomorph Specialist Group, n.d.; World Lagomorph Society, 2023)

The following conservation groups have been instrumental in supporting the Ili pika through extensive research, funding, education and awareness:

• The International Union for Conservation of Nature Species Survival Commission [IUCN SSC] Lagomorph Specialist Group (n.d.) promotes conservation and effective sustainable management of lagomorph species through science, education and advocacy. Li Weidong, the conservationist who discovered and named the Ili pika, is an esteemed member of this group (Lagomorph Specialist Group, n.d.).

• The World Lagomorph Society (2023) is an association that aims to conserve and protect lagomorphs through communication and cooperation between researchers and those interested in the research, thus improving the knowledge of the group. The WLS also supports the study of lagomorph species, especially those under special conservation status, both scientifically and financially (World Lagomorph Society, 2023).

According to Li and Smith (2019), there are no known conservation measures in place for the Ili pika with the exception of the formation of two small sanctuary areas to preserve its habitat and protect it from predation by mastiffs. Herdsmen have also become volunteers, looking after and observing the Ili pika while preventing poachers from entering the area (Geography Scout, 2021).

Macdonald (2017) believes that only addressing climate change itself can mitigate the threat to the Ili pika. Carpenter (2018) suggests the development and implementation of a conservation recovery plan that is adaptive to climate change impacts. Li and Smith (2019), Carpenter (2018) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (2019) concur that the primary priority conservation action for the protection of the Ili pika is to establish a nature reserve. Nature reserves assist in species conservation and help safeguard both biodiversity and ecosystem diversity, which is the variety of ecosystems in a geographical area (Fowler et al., 2013; Song et al., 2017). According to Song et al. (2017), Chinese nature reserves typically include three functional zones: (a) the core zone, which protects the ecosystems and habitat of the endangered species; (b) the buffer zone, which surrounds the core zone and prohibits human impacts on the ecosystems and habitat of the endangered species; and (c) the experimental zone, which surrounds the buffer zone and permits human development. While China has declared nature reserves for many endangered species, the Tian Shan Mountains lack adequate reserves for its vast steppe-meadow ecoregion (Carpenter, 2000; Song et al., 2017).