A group of 20 endangered Columbia Basin pygmy rabbits, Brachylagus idahoensis (pictured), were reintroduced to the wilds of Washington state last month but only four of the rabbits are still alive. The native rabbits, which are small enough to fit in the palm of one's hand, were released at the Sagebrush Flat Wildlife Area, said David Hays, pygmy rabbit coordinator for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Hays said two males were removed earlier this month and will be returned at the end of April. The other 14 rabbits are believed to have fallen victim to predators, mainly coyotes, but also hawks and owls, Hays said.
The rabbits eat sagebrush and are the only rabbits in the United States that dig their own burrows.
The Sagebrush Flat Wildlife Area, about 10 miles north of Ephrata, WA, is considered the last native home of the Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit. The rabbit was listed as a state endangered species in 1993 and federally protected in 2003.
The 3,700-acre release site has been watched daily by Fish and Wildlife staff. Several of the rabbits were fitted with GPS monitors. Of the four rabbits remaining at the site, three are females who could be pregnant, officials said.
Oh well, this effort is far cheaper and much more worthwhile than the Iraq war ever was.
Cited story.
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Easy way to keep this species: sell them in pet stores. 'Cause they're adorable! They may not flourish in their natural environment but they won't go extinct.
One of the cooler job titles I've run across in a while.
decrepitoldfool: ya know, even though i know plenty of environmentalists who think that species are better off dead than domesticated, i don't share that opinion. i thought the same thing. those bunnies are cuter'n a bug's ear, and would be very popular pets. heck, i'd get a few myself, and set up a bunny ranch in my manhattan apartment. i am sure my parrots would enjoy training them to come when called, etc.
mustafa: yes, that job title would look very cute (and useful!) on a CV.
I'd say for a lot of species, domestication is their only hope, and this might well be one of them. On the other hand, these guys are about the right size to get into the walls and infest a house, as escaped guinea pigs and smaller rodents sometimes do.
In this case in particular though, there's an obvious mistake: These are obviously a prey species, with high mortality and (presumably) rapid reproduction. But they have to survive the former to make use of the latter! Releasing them a couple-dozen at a time is hopeless -- they should be scattering around hundreds of them, not twenty. Of course, that's more or less what would happen if they became popular with the area's kids....
I do find it hard to believe that no other American rabbits dig their own burrows, but iduno.
Thank you for making a 24-year-old man squeal at the cuteness of the cute widdle wabbit. :P