Bushman rabbit, Bushman hare
The Riverine rabbit (Bunolagus monticularis) is the only member of its genus because of the unique traits that separate it from the other leporids. It is one of the most endangered mammals in the world.
The Riverine rabbit has a general appear of rabbits, but the ears and body are longer. It typically has a black stripe running from the corner of the mouth over the cheek, and a white ring around each eye. It also has a brown woolly tail, cream or greyish-colored fur on its belly and throat, and a broad, club-like hind foot. Its tail is pale brown with a tinge of black toward the tip. Its coat is soft and silky and its limbs are short and heavily furred. Male Riverine rabbits weigh approximately 1.5 kilogram while females weigh about 1.8 kilograms.
Riverine rabbit is native to the Karoo desert in South Africa. They prefer to occupy river basins and very particular shrubland. They live in very dense growth along the seasonal rivers and their habitat regions are tropical and terrestrial biomes are desert or dune and scrub forest.
Riverine rabbits are solitary and nocturnal animals. They feed at night and during the day they rest in forms. They are territorial and the males’ home ranges overlap slightly with those of the various females. In their native habitat, Riverine rabbits feed on the dense shrubland and the soft soil allows for them to create vast burrows and dens for protection, brooding young, and thermoregulation. They are capable of jumping over one-meter-high bushes when being pursued by a predator. To escape predation, these animals spend the day resting in a form, which is a shallow scrape usually made in the soil under a Karoo bush.
Riverine rabbits are herbivores (folivores) and eat riparian vegetation found along seasonal rivers in the Karoo Desert. This includes salt-loving plants such as the salsola and lycium. They sometimes eat grass depending on if it is the wet season. Aside from their conventional food intake, they are also coprophages and consume their day-time droppings which are advantageous containing vitamins and minerals such as calcium and phosphorus.
Riverine rabbits are one of the rarest mammals in the world and very little is known about their reproductive behavior. It is known, however, that they have a polygamous mating system, where males mate with more than one female. After the gestation period of around 35 days, the female bears its single young underground for protection. The kit is born altricial, bald, blind, and helpless, and weighs from 40 to 50 grams. The helpless kit stays with the mother until it is capable of living on its own and fending for itself. Very rarely, two kits may be born at once.
The Riverine rabbit is a species that is in extreme danger of extinction. In 1981 it was first labeled as an endangered species. The decline in the population is largely due to the alteration of its habitat for agriculture, causing the unique needed environment of the Riverine rabbit to be destroyed. An additional threat to the species is found in how the remaining land left that supports it is being damaged by climate change. Other sources for population reduction are hunting for entertainment, food, and collection, and trapping for the purpose of capturing other bothersome animals. Soil erosion in the area of habitation is another factor in destroying the animal. Finally, structures on rivers like dams isolate subpopulations from each other, discouraging faster population regeneration
According to IUCN Red List, the total population size of the Riverine rabbit is 157-207 mature individuals. Currently, this species is classified as Critically Endangered (CR) on the IUCN Red List and its numbers today are decreasing.
Riverine rabbits provide many benefits for farmers. They cause the riverine vegetation that they eat to bind to the soil and prevent it from being washed away in floods. Also, this vegetation promotes the filtration of rainwater to groundwater, which is a benefit to farmers, who often use windmills to draw up water for their livestock. Indirectly, the habitat of Riverine rabbits helps humans in farming. This benefit can only be sustained if rabbits continue to feed on this vegetation.
