Endangered Riverine Rabbit

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Sprocky
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Endangered Riverine Rabbit

Post by Sprocky »

2012-06-12 14:02
Endangered Riverine Rabbit gets cash injection

Cape Town - The Endangered Wildlife Trust has been awarded a cheque of R270 000 to accelerate the habitat conservation programme for the endangered Riverine Rabbit.

Lindt awarded the donation on Tuesday and the environmental organisation hopes to use the money to expand the habitat protection programme for the mammal.

"We are a huge fan of the rabbit at Lindt with our gold bunny which has been an icon for over 60 years now," director of Lindt & Sprüngli marketing Marjolaine De Clavière told News24.

She said that the animals represented a good fit with the company's brand and forms part of its corporate social investment programme.

"It was also important for us to give back. We are lucky to have consumers being such great fans of our product," De Clavière said.

The Riverine Rabbit (Bunolagus monticularis) also known as the Bushman Rabbit, occurs near rivers and habitat conservation is important because the animal relies on the vegetation near rivers or riverbeds to survive.

It is endemic to the Karoo and less than 1 000 individuals are thought to exist near the towns of Touwsrivier, Barrydale, Loxton and Fraserburg areas.

The nocturnal rabbit, which grows to between 30cm and 50cm long, is under threat from dogs, road accidents and habitat loss through cultivation.


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Re: Endangered SA rabbit gets cash injection

Post by Flutterby »

Good news for the rabbit!! \O \O


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Breaking news as new Riverine Rabbit population found in Baviaanskloof

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Image

31 May 2019

The Endangered Wildlife Trust’s Drylands Conservation Programme was thrilled to confirm the presence of a population of Riverine Rabbits on the western side of the Baviaanskloof in late May 2019. This population represents a completely new distribution of the species not anticipated by any previous population modelling. According to Bonnie Schumann, EWT Nama Karoo Coordinator, this is an historic find with the closest confirmed sightings of the southern population having been more than 250 km to the west.

The discovery comes after ornithologist and well-known conservation scientist, Alan Lee from Blue Hills Escape Farm in the Western Cape, discovered a dead Riverine Rabbit on a gravel road in December 2018. Fortunately, he realised that the animal in front of him was not a hare or a Rock Rabbit but the Critically Endangered Riverine Rabbit.

EWT team members visited the area and set out 38 camera traps with the aim of capturing live images to confirm the presence of another population. Camera traps are placed in clusters and in such a manner that individuals are not likely to be observed twice by more than one cluster. After 50 days in the field, the cameras were collected by the team and processed.

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According to Cobus Theron, EWT Drylands Conservation Programme Manager, “while we expected one or two clusters to capture images, we were astounded that eight of our 12 clusters had confirmed images of Riverine Rabbits on them!” This again demonstrates that this species is the true hide-and-seek champion of the Karoo.

“This find is unexpected and redefines our understanding of the distribution of the species. It demonstrates that their elusiveness is part of their survival strategy,” continues Cobus.

CapeNature Executive Director: Biodiversity Capabilities, Coral Birss, added, “CapeNature is delighted about the recent discovery of Riverine Rabbits in the Baviaanskloof area in the Southern Cape. The species, which previously managed to go virtually undetected, has proven to effectively solidify its presence, supported by research on genetic connectivity and distribution in the last decade. This latest discovery is remarkable and bodes well for the future survival of this Critically Endangered species, particularly for its protection within the landscapes of the Western Cape surrounding our nature reserves. CapeNature commends the great work and research being done and facilitated by the Endangered Wildlife Trust and looks forward to further collaboration and tracking the progress of this interesting species.”

The EWT has also obtained a genetic sample from the dead rabbit found by Alan Lee. This will be analysed to provide insights into the relationship between the Baviaanskloof Riverine Rabbits and Riverine Rabbits from the northern and southern populations.

The find shows the importance of sightings by members of the public and the value of social media in connecting people.

The EWT, along with CapeNature, will now incorporate the findings into their conservation strategy and engage landowners in the Baviaanskloof to ensure that the Riverine Rabbit receives the attention it deserves.

https://mailchi.mp/abe5dacb8573/media-r ... 113daa1376


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Re: Breaking news as new Riverine Rabbit population found in Baviaanskloof

Post by Richprins »

^Q^ ^Q^ ^Q^


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Re: Breaking news as new Riverine Rabbit population found in Baviaanskloof

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Some good news for a change! ^Q^


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Re: Breaking news as new Riverine Rabbit population found in Baviaanskloof

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Great news from my Back yard


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Re: Breaking news as new Riverine Rabbit population found in Baviaanskloof

Post by Lisbeth »

HABITAT STUDY HELPS SOLVE THE PUZZLE

Image
Bonnie Schumann, Nama Karoo Coordinator, EWT Drylands Conservation Programme

The EWT’s Drylands Conservation Programme recently joined forces with Dr Sue Milton, Karoo ecologist and botanist, to characterise Riverine Rabbit habitat in the Succulent Karoo and Renosterveld. Our aim is to understand the exact habitat requirements of Riverine Rabbits in the southern- and eastern populations.

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Most of the past work done on Riverine Rabbit ecology and habitat was carried out in the northern population of rabbits, which were first described and documented in the Nama Karoo in 1901. This region has been the focus of much of the research and conservation efforts to date. As such we have a pretty good understanding of rabbit behaviour and habitat requirements here. Our understanding of the southern population, in the Succulent Karoo, is less comprehensive. This is due to the fact that Riverine Rabbits were only discovered in the Succulent Karoo in 2003. Incredibly, a third eastern population remained undetected in the western Baviaanskloof area until 2018. To understand these populations better, camera trap surveys were carried out near Touwsriver and in the Baviaanskloof, yielding excellent results in terms of detecting Riverine Rabbits.

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We revisited these locations in in September (spring) to describe the plant communities in the vicinity of the cameras where rabbits were detected. Plant species, the height and cover of the vegetation were recorded, as well as other factors such as slope aspect, soil type and depth and distance to nearest riparian areas. The results of this work will narrow down future search areas and assist us to identify corridors between known populations. Understanding what ideal habitat looks like will also inform how best to manage known distribution areas to maintain existing populations.

Many thanks to Dr Sue Milton (RenuKaroo) and Liesl Eichenber (Ecologist on Sanbona Nature Reserve), for their assistance and helping to complete the Riverine Rabbit puzzle.

The work was made possible with funding from Rand Merchant Bank and the Zoological Society for the Conservation of Species and Populations (ZGAP).


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Re: Breaking news as new Riverine Rabbit population found in Baviaanskloof

Post by Lisbeth »

Unravelling the mysteries of Riverine Rabbit families

12 November 2019

In another exciting first for conservation, the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) has captured the first ever photographic evidence of Riverine Rabbit kits (babies) with their mother. This unbelievable image was captured on a camera trap near Loxton, and showed a mother Riverine Rabbit and two kits. This is in line with previous research that has suggested that these elusive rabbits, rather than breeding like the proverbial bunnies, tend to only have one or two kits.

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White outlines indicate the locations of the two kits captured in this photo.

To make this news even more exciting, the area where this image was captured was previously data deficient. This means that no sightings of Riverine Rabbit were previously recorded on this farm. The new discovery takes us one step closer to closing the gaps in our knowledge of the complete distribution range for the species and provides us with more information on their ecology.

The EWT’s Drylands Conservation Programme significantly increased its camera trapping activities in 2019, in both the northern and southern populations of Riverine Rabbits. This has led to several exciting developments, such as the confirmation of the new Baviaanskloof population, and a far greater understanding of the species and their use of habitat.

We would like to thank our funders, Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) and the Zoologischen Gesellschaft für Arten und Populationsschutz (ZGAP), for providing ongoing support for our innovative endeavours to uncover the secrets of the iconic Riverine Rabbit.


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Re: Breaking news as new Riverine Rabbit population found in Baviaanskloof

Post by PJL »

That's cool - I would have assumed they were scrub hares if I had come across one lol


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Re: Breaking news as new Riverine Rabbit population found in Baviaanskloof

Post by Richprins »

\O \O \O


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