The Riverine rabbit is the only endangered rabbit on the African continent. It lives near South Africa. They live in bushes and tend to live alone without forming groups. Body length 33g-50g, tail length 7cm-9cm, ear length 10cm-12cm, weight 1.5kg-1.8kg, nocturnal, often resting in shallow burrows in the ground during the day. Like a cat, it has a strong territorial consciousness, with females having about 13 hectares and males having about 20 hectares.
Habitat
They seem to live in the Northern Cape and Western Cape states of South Africa.
They like the area around the river and live on plants. Africa has the image of a desert, but there are rivers and springs in the Western Cape and Northern Cape, and the environment for rabbits to live in is in place.
No capture
In recent years, land development has destroyed the nature of habitats, which has reduced the number of plants. As a result, populations have plummeted and are legally protected in the Western Cape, hunting and catching bans. Attempts are also underway to reintroduce captive breeding individuals.
Endangered species
Nearly 80% of habitat has been lost due to centuries of farming, livestock grazing, land development and other infrastructure construction. It is already extinct around Sutherland and Calvinia. In addition, there are many cases in which farmers are killed as they are exterminated by farmers as targets for sports hunting and as vermin that damage farmland. The population has also declined by nearly 70% over the last 100 years and is estimated to be less than 250 adults.
Ecology
In polygamy, males mate with multiple females with overlapping territories. The gestation period is about 30 days and gives birth to one or two children between August and May. A child born is about 40g, and when it grows up to about 500g, it comes out of the burrow and begins to eat and becomes independent. It has a lifespan of 3 years in the wild and about 5 years in captivity.
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