Since tomorrow is Easter, I think a story about rabbits is appropriate: I'll bet that none of you knew that there are striped rabbits in the world, and I'll bet that none of you have heard of the Sumatran striped rabbit, Nesolagus netscheri (pictured right). This is because the Sumatran striped rabbit is one of the rarest species of rabbit in the world. It has only been seen three times in the last 35 years.
The Sumatran Striped Rabbit -- also known as the Sumatra Short-eared Rabbit or Sumatran Rabbit -- is found only in forest in the Barisan Mountains in western Sumatra, Indonesia. It is listed as a critically endangered species by the World Conservation Union, due to deforestation and habitat loss.
The Sumatran striped rabbit was photographed by a camera trap in late January in Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, the Wildlife Conservation Society said. The rabbit was previously photographed in 2000, and the last sighting by a scientist was in 1972.
"This rabbit is so poorly known that any proof of its continued existence at all is great news, and confirms the conservation importance of Sumatra's forests," said Colin Poole, director of the Wildlife Conservation Society's Asia Program.
For those of you who might be tempted to think that there is only one species of striped rabbit, think again. Researchers discovered another species of striped rabbit in the Annamite Mountains between Laos and Vietnam in 1999. This closely-related species is known as the Annamite striped rabbit, Nesolagus timminsi. The two species likely diverged from each other about 8 million years ago.
Cited story.
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Comments
No striped rabbits in Central Park, I guess, because all the sewer alligators ate them...
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Born-and-bred New Yorker relegated to suburban Mass., USA http://surfcountry.blogspot.com/
Posted by: Howard | April 7, 2007 4:50 PM
Interesting ... Assuming that they aren't misnamed hares, I'm surprised to hear of Asian species of rabbits. Cute, but that's some serious redeye!
Posted by: David Harmon | April 7, 2007 5:30 PM
But do they lay striped Easter eggs? I never found any such eggs in my yard in Atlanta, but of course Atlanta is not Sumatra.
Posted by: biosparite | April 7, 2007 5:45 PM
"Sumatran Striped Rabbit Spotted"
does that mean it has both stripes and spots? ;)
Posted by: JPS | April 7, 2007 8:19 PM
hee, no, no spots, but i liked the play on words anyway.
Posted by: GrrlScientist | April 8, 2007 4:49 PM