Happy Lunar New Year!

While it may seem that rabbits are common and abundant, surprisingly, nearly half of rabbit species worldwide are endangered.

Here are 5 endangered rabbits to remember this year. These beautiful and amazing species could easily disappear forever in our lifetime as they face habitat loss, climate change, poaching and a myriad of other threats. The trajectory of same threats and driving forces will likely determine the fate of our species as well.

I hope the New Year brings the inspiration for us all to face humanities problems and challenges with the gentle grace and peaceful determination of the Rabbit.

-The Sumatran Striped Rabbit is found only in the highland forests of Sumatra, Indonesia, and is considered to be one of the least know and may be the most critically-endangered rabbit species, with only around 300 individuals remaining in the wild. 

Image: https://news.mongabay.com/2012/06/forgotten-species-the-overlooked-sumatran-striped-rabbit/ 

-The pygmy rabbit is the smallest rabbit in North America, and is known for its unique burrowing behavior, as it creates its own underground burrow systems for protection and breeding. You can see this rabbit in Montana’s Centennial Valley: https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/places-we-protect/centennial-valley/

Image :https://www.ndow.org/species/pygmy-rabbit/ 

-The Amani rabbit is found only on the Amami Islands of Japan. This species is endowed with oddly-shaped ears, a large body, and a distinctive black and white pattern on its fur. It is also known for its nocturnal habits and for being able to climb trees, which is an unusual behavior for a rabbit.

Image: https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/13054888 

-The Hispid Hare is found in the Terai region of Nepal and northern India. It is known for its reddish-brown fur, which is longer and coarser than that of other hares, as well as its long ears and hind legs.

Image: https://journalsofindia.com/hispid-hare/ 

-The Ili pika is a small mammal that is found only in the Tianshan Mountains of China. It is a type of pika, which is a small, rabbit-like mammal that is known for its high-pitched calls and its ability to store food in large piles called haypiles. Pikas are also included with hares and rabbits in the taxonomic order Lagomorpha. 

Image: https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-china-blog-32079630 

This month, nearly 500,000 ha of Marine Protected Area (MPA) in Kaimana – the Kingdom of Fishes – in West Papua, Indonesia were formally protected by the Indonesian Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, securing the MPA at the highest level. Located in the southern region of the Bird’s Heads Seascapes, sitting at the centre of Coral Triangle (often referred as Amazon of the ocean, one of the world’s richest areas of marine life), Kaimana has the highest fish biomass in the Coral Triangle.

I’ve been working in conservation and conservation science for a couple of decades.  Currently, I serve as CI’s Senior Vice President for Asia Pacific Field Division.  I worked at The Nature Conservancy (TNC) for many years and got to work on big deals like the Great Bear Rainforest agreements in Canada and the Montana Legacy project. I managed to get a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the California Institute of Technology and still try to publish occasionally in conservation science. I reside in Singapore with my wife Tina and daughter Tristan.  This is my personal blog on conservation and other interesting topics.