top of page
Riverine
Rabbit
CRITICALLY ENDANGERED
10x26''
- SOLD -
The Riverine Rabbit, also known as the bushman rabbit or bushman hare, is one of the most endangered mammals in the world, with only around 500 living adults, and 1500 overall. This rabbit is found only in the central and southern regions of the Karoo Desert of South Africa's Northern Cape Province. Their diet consists of mostly plants and vegetation, but their usual food sources are being diminished, causing a scarcity for their population. A unique aspect of its biology is that females can only produce one offspring per year, which contributes to their critically endangered status. Other unique traits include being nocturnal, and producing two different types of droppings.
The Riverine Rabbit is a species that is in extreme danger of extinction. In 1981 they were first labeled as an endangered species and now they are classified as critically endangered, the last category of endangerment before extinction. It has a population of only about 500 mature rabbits (and 1,500 overall) which both continue to decline. Major threats to this species comes from loss and degradation of habitat. Over the last hundred years, over two-thirds of their habitat has been lost. The primary reason for the decline in habitats is due to cultivation and livestock farming. Removal of the natural vegetation along the rivers and streams prevent the rabbits from being able to construct stable breeding burrows. Another problem that this species faces is how their already immensely small population is divided into several isolated groups (about 10 in total, with less than 50 rabbits in each) because fields in the area often have fencing which is impassable to this species, designed to keep out jackals. Other sources of population reduction are how the rabbit is hunted for entertainment, food, and collection, and also in how the rabbit has often fallen into traps set on farms, for the purpose of capturing other bothersome animals.
Currently there are few conservation efforts other than the Endangered Wildlife Trust which has started to put in effort into researching and learning more about the species, as very little is known about it in comparison to other animals, such as behavior and diet. One of the conservation efforts underway is researching this species, seeking to find critical information about the species that will lead to more effective conservation measures. The current plan to protect the remaining members of the population has been criticized, with experts claiming that a large part of the remaining land that can support the rabbit is outside the current area being preserved for it. Other efforts include engaging and educating local farmers so that they act in a way which reduces harm to the species. Also, efforts have been carried out to get landowners of the area of the habitat to agree to certain measures that help the rabbit population. One of the most important and meaningful conservation efforts has been to engage in highly thorough monitoring of rabbit populations. This endeavor has been carried out largely by the Endangered Wildlife Trust.
bottom of page