Riverine rabbit  (Bunolagus monticularis)

During the last 100 years, over two thirds of the riverine rabbit’s habitat has been lost, and today, only 250 mature riverine rabbits are estimated to exist in the wild. The majority of the land in the Karoo Desert is very unfertile, but the riverine rabbit occupies the flood plains of the seasonal Karoo rivers and its tributaries, which are fertile and have therefore been ploughed extensively in some areas. Removal of the natural vegetation along the rivers and streams prevents the rabbit from constructing stable breeding burrows, due to the loss of the soft alluvial top soils, and from feeding and escaping predation (1). Overgrazing by domestic herbivores also poses a threat to the rabbits’ habitat and results in habitat degradation and fragmentation (2). As rabbits and hares are adding to the menu of farm workers, they are shot or trapped with gin traps (1).

The Endangered Wildlife Trust’s Riverine Rabbit Working Group (EWT-RRWG) was established in August 2003, with the aim of establishing and conserving an ecosystem and socioeconomic conditions in the Karoo that can support a stable population of riverine rabbits. The EWT-RRWG achieves this through surveys, research and monitoring, environmental education and awareness, habitat management and rehabilitation, and conservation stewardship programmes. At present, none of the riverine rabbit habitat is protected, and the species only occurs on private Karoo farmland. Therefore, the establishment of Riverine Rabbit Conservancies is an important aim for the EWT-RRWG. Conservancies are areas established by a voluntary agreement with private landowners who have riverine rabbits and potentially suitable habitat on their properties. So far, three have been established in the Karoo. The conservation and management of riverine rabbit populations and their habitat is outlined in the conservancy constitution, and landowners strictly control or prohibit any hunting with dogs, and the use of gin traps (6). With the EWT-RRWG raising awareness of the riverine rabbit’s threatened status, and coordinating conservation efforts, it is hoped that the risk of extinction to this rare species can be reduced.