Riverine rabbit

The riverine rabbit (Bunolagus monticularis), also known as the bushman rabbit or bushman hare, is a rabbit with an extremely limited distribution area, found only in the central and southern regions of the Karoo Desert of South Africa's Northern Cape Province. It is the only member of the genus Bunolagus because of unique traits that separate it from the other leporids. It is one of the most endangered mammals in the world, with only around 500 living adults, and 1500 overall.

They have a diet which consists of mostly plants and vegetation, but their usual food sources are being diminished, causing a scarcity for their population. This food loss is also connected to other problems such as with forming burrows. A unique aspect of its biology is that females can only produce one offspring per year. This contributes to how it is classified as critically endangered, which is the most severe classification available. Other unique traits include being nocturnal, and producing two different types of droppings. Currently, there are conservation plans being enacted to help with its decreasing population and habitat.

The riverine rabbit is native to the Karoo desert in South Africa.^[3] It has a general appearance that is similar to most rabbits, but the ears and body are longer. It typically has a black stripe running from the corner of the mouth over the cheek, and a white ring around each eye. It also has a brown woolly tail, cream or greyish-coloured fur on its belly and throat, and a broad, club-like hind foot. It has a dental formula of 2/1, 0/0, 3/2, 3/3, like other rabbits, with a total of 28 teeth.^[4] Its tail is pale brown with a tinge of black toward the tip. Its coat is soft and silky and its limb are short and heavily furred. Male riverine rabbits weigh approximately 1.5 kilogram while females weigh about 1.8 kilograms.^[5]

The riverine rabbit's scientific name is Bunolagus monticularis.^[6] Some common names referring to it are the bushman hare and the bushman rabbit.^[7] This rabbit also has less common names such as boshaas and vleihaas. These names arose from the habitats they lived in and are based on how these were moist and dense.^[8] Genetically, its closest relations are to the Amami rabbit, the Hispid hare, and the European rabbit.^[9]

It is found in only a few places in the Karoo Desert of South Africa's Northern Cape province. Sanbona Wildlife reserve is classified as a protected wilderness area, which has a successful breeding population, where it is being researched and monitored. As its name suggests, the Riverine rabbit prefers to occupy river basins and very particular shrubland. It feeds on the dense shrubland and the soft soil allows for it to create vast burrows and dens for protection, brooding young, and thermoregulation. The riverine rabbit lives in very dense growth along the seasonal rivers in the central semi-arid Karoo region of South Africa. Its habitat regions are tropical and terrestrial while its terrestrial biomes are desert or dune and scrub forest.^[10] Two of the most common plants in its habitat are Salsola glabrescens (11·8%) and Lycium spp. (8·5%).

The Karoo Desert in South Africa, the location of the Riverine Rabbit's habitat

The black eagle is one of the primary predators of the riverine rabbit

Lycium, one of the main components of the riverine rabbit's diet