The Columbia Basin Pygmy Rabbit

THE COLUMBIA BASIN PYGMY RABBIT

(Brachylagus idahoensis)

(Oregon Zoo)

By Julia Luna

What is a Columbia Basin Pygmy Rabbit?

The Columbia Basin Pygmy Rabbit is a small critter, part of the family Leporidae. What makes this Pygmy rabbit different from the others is: the size, bone structure, blood protein arrangement, and habitat behavior. Adult pygmy rabbits are generally 9-11 inches in length and typically weight less than a pound. Columbia Basin Pygmy Rabbits are the only of their kind that bury themselves and their young in shallow burrows. This is due to their unique geographic habitat, which is described in the next section.

Where and How does the Columbia Basin Pygmy Rabbit live?

As the name of the species suggests, these pygmy rabbits live in the Columbia Basin region. But where exactly is the Columbia Basin you might ask? It is in the Eastern region of the state of Washington, but of that region the pygmy rabbits live in a specific landscape, the semiarid steppe. The rest of the species live in neighboring states such as Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, Oregon, and California. These pygmy rabbits live most of their lives darting in and out of their burrows, which they build thanks to their long claws. they are also fairly fast, being able to hop at speeds of 15 miles an hour, a feat considering their tiny size. They sustain themselves off the surrounding brush, especially being dependent on sagebrush as a food source and source of shelter.

(US Fish and Wildlife Service)

Why is a Rabbit listed on the ESA?

It might come as a surprise that a rabbit is on the Endangered Species Act list, since they are known to be prolific breeders. Surprisingly, producing offspring is not one of the factors plaguing the pygmy rabbit. What are the factors that greatly decimated the Columbia Basin Pygmy Rabbit are: habitat destruction; overutilization of the population for recreational, scientific, or educational purposes; disease and predation; and human and nature caused factors. While the combination of those left the pygmy rabbit population to 16 individuals in 2001, the single largest contributing factor was habitat destruction. Due to the fact that the pygmy rabbit's preferred habitat of semiarid brush being unsuitable for human utilization, humans began to replace the natural flora with more grasses suitable for grazing. It was not realized until the early 2000's that the Columbia Basin Pygmy Rabbit population was quickly dwindling and in 2001 the Columbia Basin Pygmy Rabbit was listed in the ESA as an endangered species under an emergency regulation. By 2003, they were fully listed as endangered. As of 2010, their current priority number is 6. 

(Oregon Zoo)

How is the Pygmy Rabbit Supposed to Recover?

The Columbia Basin Pygmy Rabbit has long been a concern for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). So the USFWS partnered with the Oregon Zoo, Washington State University captive breeding program, and Northwest Trek Wildlife Park to begin captive breeding with the remaining 16 wild pygmy rabbits. Due to low genetic diversity, the Columbia Basin Pygmy Rabbits were crossbred with Idaho Pygmy Rabbits. After several breeding seasons to determine how genetically fir the pygmy rabbits were, they were reintroduced into the wild. This proved to be unsuccessful and none of the 20 pygmy rabbits released survived in the wild. So the breeding programs ramped up their efforts and created a new plan to slowly reintroduce the pygmy rabbits into extirpated areas. In 2011, the programs created a partial release, keeping the rabbits in a large enclosure to reduce predation. After a few successful breeding seasons and reintroduction of wild pygmy rabbits from Nevada, Idaho, Utah, and Oregon, the pygmy rabbits are beginning to see an upturn in population. However, there will be continued controlled field-breeding, translocation and releases until the pygmy rabbit can sustain its own population within the Columbia Basin. 

(University of Washington)

How Can WE Help the Columbia Basin Pygmy Rabbit?

The best way to support the continued resurgence of pygmy rabbits is through awareness and financial support. Pygmy rabbits are important in their ecosystem. They are a food source for many predators, such as owls, hawks, bobcats, lynxes, and foxes in the Columbia Basin area. They are also ecosystem engineers because of how they shape the arid steppe with their shallow burrows. I can spread awareness through this post along with links of useful information on why we should help pygmy rabbits recover, besides just because they are so cute and small. There are several organizations that are currently helping not only the Columbia Basin Pygmy Rabbits but the entire species of pygmy rabbits that can always use donations. 

The Oregon Zoo that became part of the captive breeding program for the Columbia Basin always needs donations to continue funding for the captive breeding program. Donate Here!

Western Watersheds works to help pygmy rabbits in Idaho and they always take donations: Donate Here!


Sources: 

Bolen, Anne. "Return of the Mighty Pygmy Rabbit." National Wildlife Federation, 11 Mar. 2013. Web. 1 Dec. 2015.

Oregon Zoo. "Columbia Basin Pygmy Rabbits. Oregon Zoo. Web. 1 Dec. 2015.

"Pygmy Rabbits." Western Watersheds Project. Web. 1 Dec. 2015.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2012. Recovery Plan for the Columbia Basin Distinct Population Segment of the Pygmy Rabbit (Brachylagus idahoensis). Portland, Oregon. ix + 109 pp.