Columbia Basin Pygmy Rabbit
(Brachylagus idahoensis)
by Austin Whaley
 |
| Figure 1: A Pygmy Rabbit nestled in the sagebrush. Note the pigment on the ear for marking individuals. |
What is a Columbia Basin Pygmy Rabbit?
The Columbia Basin Pygmy Rabbit
is the tiniest rabbit in North America and is local to the Pacific Northwest
region. It is a small gray bunny that is has a mature size of less than a foot
long and less than a pound fully grown. Their habitat is groves of sagebrush, which
is convenient because the Pygmy rabbits diet consist mainly of sagebrush
leaves! Commonly mistaken with cottontail rabbits, they are much less
adventurous rabbits and rarely leave their very specific habitat. They have
inhabited the Pacific Northwest region for over 100,000 years and are extremely
specialized to their habitat.
 |
| Fig 2: Original Range of Pygmy Rabbit |
 |
| Fig 3: Remaining Range of Pygmy Rabbits |
Whats happening to the adorable little critters?
With rapidly developing states, much of the Pygmy rabbits natural habitats in Washington and Oregon are being destroyed by human development and fires. Their populations declined drastically as their burrow homes were built over or naturally smoked out by wildfires. The Pygmy rabbit was declared threatened in 1990 and then reclassified to endangered in 1993 as the population continued to decline. From a group of six populations in multiple states in 1997, by 2001 only one population remained in the Columbia Basin.
Oh no! What have we done to help them?
 |
| Fig 4: Statistics on Rabbit Breeding Factors |
When their endangered label was placed on November 30, 2001 conservation
efforts took place to save the remaining pygmy rabbits. With a population of a
measly 16 pygmy rabbits in 2002, they were put into a captive breeding program
in the Oregon Zoo. In 2011 Washington State University, Oregon Zoo, and
Northwest Trek Wildlife Park all relocated the rabbits to Washington from other
states so they could interbreed. Having these populations crossbreed with other
populations promotes strong and diverse genetics in the remaining rabbits. As
well as interbreeding, the Oregon Zoo experimented with a “dating game show” to
see if mate selection had an effect. Their results showed that it had a large
effect on litters with up to 80 births per couple in some cases!
The
rabbits are semi-captively raised in sagebrush enclosures to prevent predation
from hawks, coyotes, and other natural predators. When they are grown and ready
to be fully released into the wild, they have their ears marked with color to
help determine individuals and extrapolate population sizes. As of 2011, there
were over 1,800 released into the wild, a 11,250% increase from the original
population! For their efforts, the Oregon Zoo received the AZA North American
Conservation Award.
 |
| Fig 5: Conservation Efforts in Oregon
Can I help?
Yes!! In 2017, there was a massive wildfire that went through the Pygmy rabbit conservation site. Many rabbits didn't make it. There is a lot of recovery to do. Consider supporting these organizations such as:
Oregon Zoo
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
University of Idaho
National Wildlife Refuge Association
US Forest Service
Great Basin Landscape Conservation Cooperative
Bureau of Land Management
Other things you can do are:
Send your representative a letter of support for wildlife conservation and national parks
Support the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife's Sutherland Canyon Fire recovery by sending donations made out by check designated for "pygmy rabbit restoration"
Figure 6: Recent Events Regarding Pygmy RabbitsSources:
“Columbia Basin Pygmy Rabbits.” Oregon Zoo, www.bing.com/cr?IG=DACCB71AC6084FB5B17E40D26B65E22C&CID=00C3A7FDC20E625B29C6AC51C3A163D1&rd=1&h=VKvD7XoefMQjQaATto6Wc329cWvpRiZL1d_UbMOoBHo&v=1&r=https%3a%2f%2fwww.oregonzoo.org%2fconserve%2ffighting-extinction-pacific-northwest%2fcolumbia-basin-pygmy-rabbits&p=DevEx,5068.1.
Geiger, Article by: Beth, et al. “Pygmy Bunnies on the Brink.” Cool Green Science, 11 Jan. 2016, blog.nature.org/science/magazine/pygmy-bunnies-rabbits-brink-washington-endangered-species-mammals-sage-restoration/.
Landers, Rich. “Pygmy Rabbit Survivors Monitored after Sageland Fire Rips through Breeding Facility in Douglas County.” Spokesman, 6 July 2017, 3:57, www.spokesman.com/blogs/outdoors/2017/jul/06/pygmy-rabbit-survivors-monitored-after-sageland-fire-rips-through-breeding-facility-douglas-county/#/0.
“Meet the World's Smallest Rabbit.” ZooBorns, 14 Oct. 2009, www.zooborns.com/zooborns/2009/10/columbia-basin-pygmy-rabbits-oregon-zoo-breeding-baby-bunnies.html.
Montana Natural Heritage Program and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. “MTNHP.” Pygmy Rabbit, 7 Mar. 2018, fieldguide.mt.gov/speciesDetail.aspx?elcode=AMAEB04010.
Oregonian/OregonLive, Katy Muldoon | The. “Sign of Success: Endangered Pygmy Rabbits Breed in the Wild.” OregonLive.com, 22 July 2011, www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2011/07/sign_of_success_endangered_pyg.html.
“Pygmy Rabbits in Washington.” Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, June 2015, wdfw.wa.gov/conservation/pygmy_rabbit/.
Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife. “Columbia Basin Pygmy Rabbit (Brachylagus Idahoensis).” Species Profile for Columbia Basin Pygmy Rabbit (Brachylagus Idahoensis), ecos.fws.gov/ecp0/profile/speciesProfile?sId=1126#conservationPlans.
“Zoo Experts Hope Rabbit Romance Sparks Panda Passion.” Oregon Zoo, 13 Feb. 2013, 3:01, www.oregonzoo.org/news/2013/02/zoo-experts-hope-rabbit-romance-sparks-panda-passion.
|
Images:
Fig 1: https://www.oregonzoo.org/conserve/fighting-extinction-pacific-northwest/columbia-basin-pygmy-rabbits
Fig 2: http://fieldguide.mt.gov/speciesDetail.aspx?elcode=AMAEB04010
Fig 3: http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2011/07/sign_of_success_endangered_pyg.html
Fig 4: https://www.oregonzoo.org/news/2013/02/zoo-experts-hope-rabbit-romance-sparks-panda-passion
Fig 5: https://www.oregonzoo.org/conserve/fighting-extinction-pacific-northwest/columbia-basin-pygmy-rabbits
Fig 6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TIqvk2AC2o
ReplyDeleteIt seems as if there are lots of organizations that support this species. I wonder which organization would be the best to support in order to improve the populations of the Pygmy rabbit. -James Yates
I’m really glad that the captive breeding efforts for the Columbian Basin Pygmy rabbit had an the species’ population, because I would hate to see such a cute animal go extinct! It is regrettable that this animal is is threatened primarily by habitat destruction, like the species that I did my blog on. It’s really refreshing to read that its population has increased by 11,250%, though. Not all endangered species are that fortunate.
ReplyDelete-Kellie Williams
It's almost hard to believe that these little guys, who weigh less than a pound, have found a way to survive the extreme Pacific Northwest winters for almost 100,000 years. It's too bad that they haven't been able to disperse to more areas around the country. -Hope Young
ReplyDeleteIt's so cool to see people at work doing captive breeding programs in order to ensure the survival of a species. This rabbit is so tiny and cute I really hope conservation efforts help. -Morgan White
ReplyDeleteThe habitat destruction this rabbit went through was devastating. I am glad captive breeding efforts were put into place to help this species. -Max Tannenwald
ReplyDeleteI thought it was cool that I learned more about the Pygmy Rabbit. I had recently read about it and I thought your blog did a good job going into a great deal of depth to help me better understand the animal. I thought the material was well written and I liked the pictures. -Nick Vollucci
ReplyDeleteAustin you used some awesome examples of the ways that zoos can help out struggling populations with captive breeding programs. I was surprised that there were only 16 of these Pygmy Rabbits left in the wild! They really have made a fast recovery! -Rick Taggesell
ReplyDeleteYour blog truly shows how conservation efforts are extremely critical for the survival of a species. With only 16 pygmy Rabbits creative ideas such as the "dating game show" at the Oregon Zoo that you described can really show how humans have a choice to have negative and positive impacts on these species. -Jason Wahlund
ReplyDeleteThese pygmy rabbits are quite unique. I found their captive breeding program entertaining and interesting that it had such a significant effect with litters up to 80 - Emily White
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWow those things are tiny! When you laid out its size I could barely believe it until I saw the photo. I liked your threat paragraph but the image of a burrow getting paved over with a rabbit in it made me sad. Gabe Worthington
ReplyDelete