Sumatran Rabbit (Nesolagus netscheri)

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The Sumatran Rabbit

The Sumatran Rabbit (Nesolagus netscheri) is listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and was thought to be extinct until it was accidentally photographed in the late 1990s. Even now it is considered the world’s rarest rabbit and is sorely endangered of becoming completely extinct as the population is so low. There aren’t any current estimations as to how many of them are living in the wild.

Interesting Fact: The Sumatran Rabbit is so rare and well hidden that the local people don’t even have a name for it in their own language and don’t even realize that it exists.

The Sumatran Rabbit is extremely isolated, making its home only in the Barisan Mountains on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Since they are so isolated and have not been studied in the wild, there is scarce information on their behavior and habitat. It is known, however, that they are nocturnal, spending the day in burrows dug and deserted by other animals. There is no evidence that they dig their own. They also make their homes in holes in the ground and under the base roots of trees. They live in what is known as the Sundaland Biodiversity Hotspot, which is home to at least 13 other critically endangered species. Other rabbits of the same family as the Sumatran Rabbit use scent for identification and to mark territory and are able to emit high, piercing shrieks when they are injured or in danger. They also warn other rabbits of danger by hitting the ground quickly with their hind legs.

The Sumatran Rabbit is interesting in that it has striped fur, thought to have been an evolutionary development to help the rabbit hide in the rainforest floor. The rabbit is generally gray with thick, soft fur, striped with a chestnut brown color. These stripes pattern the rabbit’s face and body, and there is one stripe that travels all the way from the shoulders to the tail. Sumatran rabbits have white underbellies and red tails. They measure approximately 13-15 inches (340-400 mm) long with a 0.5 inch (15 mm) tail. They only weigh about 3 pounds (1.5 kg). They are also known to have shorter ears than other rabbits.

The Sumatran Rabbit doesn’t venture out into clearings or out of the forest when looking for food. Instead, it stays protected under the trees of the rainforest, making its meals on the plants that grow there, eating both the stalks and the leaves.

Since there hasn’t been any significant field research on these rabbits, nothing really is known about their method of reproduction. Other rabbits in the same family, however, usually reach sexual maturity at around 8 months of age. After a gestational period of 10 days, they give birth to litters of baby rabbits, or kittens. These litters can number up to six kittens at a time. Rabbits usually build nests that are lined with their own fur for the kittens when they are born, and they are blind and helpless at birth, usually not even opening their eyes for 7-10 days. Typical rabbits are able to live to be about nine years old. Unfortunately, it is not known whether the Sumatran Rabbit has these typical breeding characteristics or not.

Further Information on the Sumatran Rabbit:

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Bibliography:
Rabbits and Hares. Encarta Encyclopedia, © 2000.
Animal Info - Sumatran Rabbit. Accessed on August 15, 2004 at http://www.animalinfo.org/species/nesonets.htm.
ADW: Nesolagus netscheri: Information. Accessed on August 15, 2004 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Nesolagus_netscheri.html.
Animal bytes - Rabbit. Accessed on August 15, 2004 at http://www.seaworld.org/AnimalBytes/rabbit.htm.