Columbia Basin Pygmy Rabbit
Encyclopedia
Columbia Basin Pygmy Rabbits are the world's smallest and among the rarest. Native only to a single area of Washington State called the Columbia Basin
, this once isolated population of pygmy rabbits usually weighs less than a pound in adulthood and was declared extinct in the wild in the 1990s, after the remaining 14 bunnies were placed in captivity. Unlike most rabbits, the Columbia Basin Pygmy Rabbit did not breed prodigiously in these environs, partially due to inbreeding within the tiny wild population. As a result they were cross bred with Idaho Pygmy Rabbits and subsequent breeding efforts have been more successful
Pygmy rabbits are the only North American rabbits that dig burrows and live in a sagebrush habitat. Jack rabbits, which also live in sagebrush communities, are actually hares, not rabbits. In the wild, pygmy rabbits eat sagebrush almost exclusively in the winter; during summer, they eat a more varied diet. They may have two to four litters of about two to six kits during the spring and summer breeding seasons. Population decline is widely attributed to predation and habitat loss caused by agricultural development and wildfires.
Columbia Basin
The Columbia Basin, the drainage basin of the Columbia River, occupies a large area–about —of the Pacific Northwest region of North America. In common usage, the term often refers to a smaller area, generally the portion of the drainage basin that lies within eastern Washington.Usage of the term...
, this once isolated population of pygmy rabbits usually weighs less than a pound in adulthood and was declared extinct in the wild in the 1990s, after the remaining 14 bunnies were placed in captivity. Unlike most rabbits, the Columbia Basin Pygmy Rabbit did not breed prodigiously in these environs, partially due to inbreeding within the tiny wild population. As a result they were cross bred with Idaho Pygmy Rabbits and subsequent breeding efforts have been more successful
Pygmy rabbits are the only North American rabbits that dig burrows and live in a sagebrush habitat. Jack rabbits, which also live in sagebrush communities, are actually hares, not rabbits. In the wild, pygmy rabbits eat sagebrush almost exclusively in the winter; during summer, they eat a more varied diet. They may have two to four litters of about two to six kits during the spring and summer breeding seasons. Population decline is widely attributed to predation and habitat loss caused by agricultural development and wildfires.