What do sumatran striped rabbits eat

Annamite striped rabbits Nesolagus timminsi are distributed along the border of Vietnam and Laos in the central and northern parts of the Annamite Mountains. Annamite striped rabbits live in rainforests. The specific range of elevations they inhabit is currently unknown. Their sister species, Sumatran striped rabbits Nesolagus netscheri are found from to m above sea level. Annamite striped rabbits have been found within this range except one specimen that was found at an altitude of m.

Can, et al. Annamite striped rabbits are very similar in appearance to their sister species Sumatran striped rabbits. They have gray hair with seven dorsal stripes on the head and body that are black or dark brown in color.

Striped rabbits have reddish-brown rumps, and body length ranges from to mm. Compared to members of the genus Lepus , striped rabbits have relatively short ears, tails and limbs; ear length of Nesolagus is half that of Lepus. Averianov, et al. Little is know regarding the mating systems of Annamite striped rabbits or its sister species, Sumatran striped rabbits. Little is know regarding the reproduction of Annamite striped rabbits or its sister species, Sumatran striped rabbits, as few individuals have been observed.

Little is know regarding the reproduction of Annamite striped rabbits or its sister species, Sumatran striped rabbits. As mammals, mothers provide nourishment until weaning. Annamite striped rabbits are nocturnal and rest during the day in burrows made by other animals.

Their short limbs and relatively weak claws make them poor runners and burrowers. Little is know about the home range of Annamite striped rabbits.

Little is know regarding communication or perception methods of Annamite striped rabbits. All lagomorphs are herbivores that use hindgut fermentation to metabolize food, and they reingest their own soft feces in order to extract remaining nutrients. The specific diet of Annamite striped rabbits is not yet known. Its sister species Nesolagus netscheri feeds at night on plants that make up the forest understory.

They remain hidden the understory while foraging rather than foraging in exposed clearings. Flux, ; Lumpkin and Seidensticker, Natural predators of Annamite striped rabbits are widely unknown, though they are trapped by hunters in the Annamite Mountains.

Annamite striped rabbits are killed in ground snares along hunting lines and by dogs that accompany hunters. Abramov, et al. The impact of the Annamite striped rabbits on their ecosystem is unknown. As herbivores, they may act as seed dispersers. Annamite striped rabbits have been used as a source of food and income by local residents of the Annamite Mountains in Laos and Vietnam.

This species was first discovered being sold in a food market in Ban Lak, Laos between December and February Surridge, et al. There are no known adverse effects of Annamite striped rabbits on humans.

Even with the acquisition of more information, however, this species is not likely to be listed as a species of Least Concern but rather somewhere from Near Threatened to Endangered because of habitat loss due to agriculture and logging as well as hunting pressures. Science China Earth Sciences Nature Acta Theriologica By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Advanced search. Skip to main content Thank you for visiting nature. Download PDF. Abstract The Annamite mountains of Laos and Vietnam have yielded several important mammalian discoveries 1. Full size image. Figure 2: Automatic camera-trap photographs of the striped rabbits. References 1 Giao, P. Google Scholar 2 Flux, J. Google Scholar 4 Halanych, K. Google Scholar 5 Allard, M. Google Scholar 6 van der Kaars, W. Google Scholar 7 Verstappen, H. Google Scholar 9 Hewitt, G. Google Scholar Download references.

Author information Author notes Robert J. Timmins Authors Alison K. Surridge View author publications. View author publications. Rights and permissions Reprints and Permissions.

About this article Cite this article Surridge, A. Copy to clipboard. Further reading Habitat degradation and indiscriminate hunting differentially impact faunal communities in the Southeast Asian tropical biodiversity hotspot Andrew Tilker , Jesse F. However, Sumatran Striped Rabbits are too rare to even consider domestication. Even if you could purchase one, because of their incredible rarity, the cost would be astronomical. Because these rabbits have rarely ever been seen, very little is known about their typical behavior.

A post shared by Tiffany v. What we do know is that Nesolagus rabbits are nocturnal. They sleep during the day, generally buried in burrows that were dug by other animals. Though there have only been a few select sightings of the Sumatran Striped Rabbit over the last hundred years, they have been captured in photographs, allowing us to get a good idea of its appearance. These rabbits are about the same size as a standard European Cottontail.

Their coats are quite different though, featuring distinct brown stripes that run down the body and face. These stripes act as a sort of camouflage, allowing the rabbit to blend into its rainforest surroundings.

Even in its homeland, the species is incredibly rare, with only a few sightings recorded in the last century. So far, the Sumatran Striped Rabbit has been spotted in just two national parks in Sumatra, both of which are located in the Sundaland Biodiversity Hotspot. In and , scientists captured photos of the elusive species in the Bukit Barisan Seletan National Park. In , researchers from the University of Delaware accidentally captured photographs of a Sumatran Striped Rabbit on their camera traps in the same national park while attempting to locate a rare Sumatran leopard.

The largest national park in Sumatra is Kerinci Seblat. Though no photographs of the Sumatran Striped Rabbit have been captured here, scientists from the national park have spotted the rabbits on several occasions. Currently, studies are underway in the area to learn more about this rare and, hopefully, recovering species.

The species was long considered to be extinct. Once spotted, they received the critically endangered conservation status. Between and , about a dozen museum specimens of the species were collected. After the last was found in , it would be 56 years before another was spotted in It would be another 26 years between that sighting and the next, during which time the rabbit was labeled as extinct.