You could call it one of the world's longest games of hide and seek.

　　这可能是史上耗时最长的捉迷藏了。

　　For more than 20 years, the Ili pika (Ochotona iliensis), a type of tiny, mountain-dwelling mammal with a teddy bear face, had eluded scientists in the Tianshan Mountains (map) of northwestern China.

　　伊利鼠兔，这种小小的，长着一张萌萌的泰迪熊脸的高山生哺乳动物已经从驻守在中国北部天山山脉的科学家的眼中消失了20多年了。

　　People have seen the furry critter only a handful of times since it was discovered by accident in 1983. In fact, people have spotted only 29 live individuals, and little is known about the animal's ecology and behavior.

　　自从1983年伊利鼠兔被意外发现之后，人们见到这种毛茸茸的小动物的次数简直屈指可数。实际上，人们只见到过29只伊利鼠兔，因此对于它们的生活习性和生活环境等知之甚少。

　　Then, in summer 2014, researchers rediscovered the pika.

　　但是，就这样毫无任何预兆的，在2014年的夏天伊利鼠兔再次出现了。

　　Weidong Li, the species' original discoverer and a scientist at the Xinjiang Institute for Ecology and Geography, had gathered a group of volunteers in the Tianshan Mountains for some pika searching. At noon one day, as they were setting up camera traps, the team spotted their prize.

　　最初发现伊利鼠兔这个物种的中国科学院新疆生态与地理研究所的李维东研究员，为了搜寻鼠兔在天山地区组织了一支志愿者队伍。一天中午，当他们设置好相机陷阱后，就获得了这个发现。

　　"They found it hiding behind a rock, and they realized they had found the pika. They were very excited," said Tatsuya Shin, a naturalist in China who works with the pika's discoverers.

　　“他们发现有个小东西藏在石头后面，仔细一看是一只鼠兔，大家都高兴坏了。”和中国团队一起工作的一位自然学家说。

　　The animal was about 8 inches (20 centimeters) long, with large ears and several small brown spots in its gray fur. Li wasn't familiar with the species, nor were nearbyherdsmen. Li caught a specimen and sent it to a scientist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, who said he believed the pika was a new species.

　　这种动物长大约20厘米，大大的耳朵，灰色的皮毛上有零星的棕色斑点。李维东没见过这类物种，当地的人也没见过。于是李维东就抓了一只做成标本送到了中科院的一位专家手中，专家仔细研究之后，认为这只鼠兔属于一个全新的物种。

　　Like other species of pika found in North America, the Ili pika lives at high elevations—between 9,200 and 13,450 feet (2,800 to 4,100 meters)—and subsists mainly on grasses, herbs, and other mountain plants.

　　和其他在北美地区发现的鼠兔一样，伊利鼠兔生活在海拔在2800米至4100米之间的高海拔地带，生存环境主要包括草地和一些高山植物周围。

　　Like other high-dwelling creatures, the pika is sensitive to changes in its environment. A 1990s estimate put its population at about 2,000 individuals, and it's believed to be decreasing in number, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

　　同其他高地生物一样，鼠兔对于生存环境的改变十分敏感，上世纪90年代的一项调查估计它们的种群数量可能只有2000只左右，而且根据国际自然保护联盟的消息，这一数量仍在不断减少。

　　Grazing pressure from livestock and air pollution have likely contributed to the decline in the Ili pika, which IUCN lists as vulnerable to extinction. China considers the species endangered.

　　畜牧造成的生态压力、栖息地的减少和空气污染等都是可能造成鼠兔种群数量减少的原因，国际自然保护联盟已经把鼠兔归于易灭绝的动物名单中。中国也把鼠兔划为了濒危物种。

　　Even so, there are no concerted efforts under way to help the Ili pika. Li said he hopes to change that, and use the rediscovery of the animal to create conservation areas for the species.

　　尽管如此现在仍然缺乏能够保护伊利鼠兔的有效措施。李维东说他希望鼠兔的再次出现能够改变现状，通过建立相关的保护区等让这种动物生存下去。

　　How could anyone turn down a face like that?

　　长了一张如此萌的脸，谁能舍得让它消失在这个世界上呢?

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（责任编辑：何莹莹）