Chubby Helan Shan pika spotted after a 6-year lapse in NW China’s Ningxia

Photos shows a Helan Shan pika at the national forest park of Helan Mountain, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. (Photo/Nie Wei)

A Helan Shan pika, a globally critically endangered species, was spotted at the national forest park of Helan Mountain, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, on Feb. 28. It marks a reappearance of the species at the same park after six years.

Helan Shan pika, or silver pika, is under second-class state protection in China and only inhabits at Helan Mountain that lies between Ningxia and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

The species, a relatively larger one in China’s pika family, weighs between 176 and 236 grams. It features fluffy long fur and round ears, with its back side grayish black in winter and reddish tan in summer. The mammal lives in gravel-covered mountainous areas at an elevation of over 2,000 meters, and grazes on plants.

Thanks to years of ecological conservation efforts, Helan Mountain’s ecology has recovered quickly, and has exhibited a marked increase in local fauna and flora populations.