Llipika, a rare animal that has features like that of a teddy bear, has been photographed more than 20 years after it was first seen.

The animal has a teddy bear face and bunny-like ears and was seen in China. Llipika is scientifically known as Ochotonailiensis and was spotted again during summer of the previous year in the Tianshan Mountains in northwest China by scientist Weidong Li, according to National Geographic.

Li had accidentally found the species in 1983 during a government assignment to study natural resources and infectious diseases.Li brought specimens to the China Academy of Sciences during the 1980s. The China Academy of Sciencesconfirmed it as a new species and added the Ili pika then eluded Li for more than 20 years until the previous year.

The Ili pika lives in China and considered vulnerable to extinction, said the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).IUCN said that global atmospheric pollution may have put pressure on their habitats and cause threats to these animals.It is estimated that there are only 1,000 ilipikas remaining in the world.