Status – Critically Endangered

Although the old adage “breeding like bunnies” might suggest the potential for rabbit species to rapidly recover from population decline, this would not appear to apply to the Riverine Rabbit – a species endemic to the unique karoo biome of South Africa.  Unlike its European relative (Oryctolagus cuniculus), Riverine rabbits only reproduce once per year and typically only give birth to one or two young, with this low reproductive potential (3-4 offspring in the lifetime of females) inhibiting efforts to rescue the wild population from its current state of approximately 400 individuals.  Riverine rabbits inhabit a narrow ecological niche, typified by shrubland along shallow river courses, and this also contributes to the difficulties in restoring subpopulations of this species to sustainable sizes.  The proximity to water renders this habitat very attractive to farming so that much of it has been converted to agriculture over recent decades.  By fencing off farm boundaries with predator-proof fencing (which often also happens to restrict rabbit movements), subpopulations of this species become isolated from each other, with negative consequences for the genetic health of the overall population.  Unfortunately, the species continues to be persecuted by hunting.  A largely solitary species, few specimens seem to occur in protected land so conservation efforts have to focus on encouraging landowners to enact rabbit-friendly agricultural practices.  Some success has been achieved in raising the profile of the species, but without formal legal protection and a lack of government funding to promote such practices, the future of this species continues to look bleak.  And while perhaps the Riverine Rabbit doesn’t exactly meet the criteria of non-cuddly that typify the species described in this blog, it does seem to suffer from being “just a rabbit” and, therefore, overlooked as an important species endemic to a disappearing habitat.