In South Africa, a species of rabbits are estimated to have only 400 individuals and 250 mature rabbits left in the wild. The Riverine rabbits are currently in the 'critically endangered' listing from the IUCN. The riverine rabbit qualifies as one of the rarest mammals in southern Africa. Over the past 70 years, more than two-thirds of the rabbits' habitat has been swallowed up by agriculture or ruined by overgrazing. The riverine rabbit's favored hangouts are the fertile flood plains of the Karoo's seasonal rivers, the very same areas that have historically been most in demand for agriculture. With its riverine habitat plowed over, the rabbit's numbers plummeted, an estimated decline of about 60% over the decades. Remaining populations clung to survival mostly on fragments of farmland, outside of protected areas and are therefore vulnerable and difficult for conservationists to monitor. Even though the mammal is slowly coming to extinction, Karoo's plains are still being developed on. The riverine rabbit conservation program along with many others are trying to save the habitat which will hopefully make the rabbit population stop going down as much. I think the developers should leave more land for the rabbits and develop land somewhere else, but all that would do is ruin a habitat of another species. What do you think should happen?
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ReplyDeleteI feel really bad for the rabbits, I mean they're so cute! The rabbits should have their own reserves so they will never go extinct. Maybe make up a law about if you harm the kind they should be sent to the time out corner. I hope the developers get Alzheimer's and forget about the plan. Do you think that? Nice blog!
ReplyDeleteI would not want to give the developers Alzheimer's because the people's family would be sad. I agree that the rabbits are cute and there should be a law about harming all animals. Why time-out corners, though?
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