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 a 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. When the cameras were collected eight of the 12 clusters had confirmed images of Riverine Rabbits.
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.
Source: Endangered Wildlife Trust
Read more about this rare rabbit here:
https://karoospace.co.za/the-rarest-rabbit/
