Tuesday 21 May
In the News: First crane egg in the western UK in four centuries
Sumatran rabbit (Nesolagus netscheri)
Sumatran rabbit fact file
- Description
- Biology
- Range
- Habitat
- Status
- Threats
- Conservation
- Find out more
- Glossary
- References
- Print factsheet
Sumatran rabbit description
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Mammalia |
| Order | Lagomorpha |
| Family | Leporidae |
| Genus | Nesolagus (1) |
The Sumatran rabbit is thought to be the rarest species of all lagomorphs (rabbits, hares and pikas) (2). Only 15 museum specimens of the Sumatran rabbit exist, collected between 1880 and 1929, and until 1998, when the Sumatran rabbit was captured on camera, it had only been seen alive once since 1916 (3) (4). It has soft, short yellowish-grey fur, turning rusty brown toward the rear, with distinctive wide black or dark brown stripes across its face and back, providing wonderful camouflage in its forest habitat (2). The fur on the underparts is whitish, its ears are black, and its tail is so short it is not normally visible (2).
- Also known as
- Sumatran short-eared rabbit, Sumatran striped rabbit.
- French
- Lapin De Sumatra.
- Spanish
- Conejo De Sumatra.
- EDGE of Existence:
www.edgeofexistence.org/mammals/species_info.php?id=10 - Endemic
- A species or taxonomic group that is only found in one particular country or geographic area.
- Nocturnal
- Active at night.
- IUCN Red List (June, 2009)
http://www.iucnredlist.org - Flux, J.E.C. (1990) The Sumatran Rabbit Nesolagus netscheri. In: Chapman, J.A. and Flux, J.E.C. (Eds) Rabbits, Hares and Pikas: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.
- Surridge, A.K., Timmins, R.J., Hewitt, G.M. and Bell, D.J. (1999) Striped rabbits in Southeast Asia. Nature, 400: 726 - .
- Wildlife Conservation Society (October, 2007)
http://www.wcs.org/353624/cameratraprabbit - Macdonald, D.W. (2006) The Encyclopedia of Mammals. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
- view the contents of, and Material on, the website;
- download and retain copies of the Material on their personal systems in digital form in low resolution for their own personal use;
- teachers, lecturers and students may incorporate the Material in their educational material (including, but not limited to, their lesson plans, presentations, worksheets and projects) in hard copy and digital format for use within a registered educational establishment, provided that the integrity of the Material is maintained and that copyright ownership and authorship is appropriately acknowledged by the End User.
More »
Top
Related species
Sumatran rabbit biology
Incredibly rare, nocturnal and found only in remote forests, it is easy to understand why local people have no name for the Sumatran rabbit and why many are not even aware of its existence (2). It spends daylight hours in dark shelters, such as holes in the base of trees or burrows of its own making (2) (5), and emerges at night to feed on plants in the forest understorey (2).
TopSumatran rabbit range
Endemic to Sumatra, where it has been found in the Barisan Mountains, west and southwest Sumatra, and there is one record from Gunung Leuser National Park in north-west Sumatra (2).
More »
Top
Species with a similar range
Sumatran rabbit habitat
The Sumatran rabbit is one of the few lagomorphs that inhabits dense rainforest. It has been found between 600 and 1,600 metres above sea level, however, much of its forest habitat has now been cleared for tea and coffee plantations (2).
More »
Top
Species found in a similar habitat
Sumatran rabbit status
Classified as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List (1).
Sumatran rabbit threats
The forests of the Barisan Mountains are being rapidly cleared for timber, tea and coffee plantations and human settlements. An influx of immigrants from Java through a transmigration program has only increased the rate at which the rabbit’s habitat is disappearing (2).
TopSumatran rabbit conservation
While the Sumatran rabbit is very poorly known, it is clear that its continued survival relies on the existence of its montane forest habitat (2) (4). It is important to locate a viable population of the rabbit, and then implement protective measures for both the rabbit and its habitat. If a population is located, it may also be necessary to initiate a captive breeding program, to create a population of rabbits for reintroduction should this rare and intriguing rabbit disappear from its natural habitat (2).
|
View information on this species at the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre. |
Find out more
For further information on the Sumatran rabbit and its conservation see:
Authentication
This information is awaiting authentication by a species expert, and will be updated as soon as possible. If you are able to help please contact: arkive@wildscreen.org.ukTopGlossary
References
More »Related species
Sign up to our newsletter
Get the latest wild news direct to your inbox.
Get involved
ARKive relies on its media donors to donate photos and videos. Can you help? There are plenty of other ways you can get involved too!
X
Close
Close
Image credit
Sumatran rabbit portrait
© A. Cambone, R. Isotti / Homo ambiens
Homo ambiens
Via Calabria
56 - 00187
Rome
Italy
Tel: +39 (06) 983 58 400
Fax: +39 (06) 892 80 649
wildlife@homoambiens.com
http://www.homoambiens.com
X
Close
Close
Link to this photo
Embed this ARKive thumbnail link by copying and pasting the code below.
Terms of Use - The displayed thumbnail may be used as a link from your website to ARKive's online content for private, scientific, conservation or educational purposes only. It may NOT be used within Apps.
Read more about
X
Close
Close
MyARKive
MyARKive offers the scrapbook feature to signed-up members, allowing you to organize your favourite ARKive images and videos and share them with friends.
X
Close
Close
Terms and Conditions of Use of Materials
Copyright in this website and materials contained on this website (Material) belongs to Wildscreen or its licensors.
Visitors to this website (End Users) are entitled to:
End Users shall not copy or otherwise extract, alter or manipulate Material other than as permitted in these Terms and Conditions of Use of Materials.
Additional use of flagged material
Green flagged material 
Certain Material on this website (Licence 4 Material) displays a green flag next to the Material and is available for not-for-profit conservation or educational use. This material may be used by End Users, who are individuals or organisations that are in our opinion not-for-profit, for their not-for-profit conservation or not-for-profit educational purposes. Low resolution, watermarked images may be copied from this website by such End Users for such purposes. If you require high resolution or non-watermarked versions of the Material, please contact Wildscreen with details of your proposed use.
Creative commons material
Certain Material on this website has been licensed to Wildscreen under a Creative Commons Licence. These images are clearly marked with the Creative Commons buttons and may be used by End Users only in the way allowed by the specific Creative Commons Licence under which they have been submitted. Please see http://creativecommons.org for details.
Any other use
Please contact the copyright owners directly (copyright and contact details are shown for each media item) to negotiate terms and conditions for any use of Material other than those expressly permitted above. Please note that many of the contributors to ARKive are commercial operators and may request a fee for such use.
Save as permitted above, no person or organisation is permitted to incorporate any copyright material from this website into any other work or publication in any format (this includes but is not limited to: websites, Apps, CDs, DVDs, intranets, extranets, signage, digital communications or on printed materials for external or other distribution). Use of the Material for promotional, administrative or for-profit purposes is not permitted.