Sumatran striped rabbit facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Sumatran striped rabbit |
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| A model of an adult | |
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Nesolagus
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netscheri
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| Sumatran striped rabbit range | |
The Sumatran striped rabbit is a special kind of rabbit that lives only in the forests of the Barisan Mountains in western Sumatra, Indonesia. It's also known as the Sumatra short-eared rabbit. Sadly, its home is shrinking because of deforestation, which means it's a threatened animal.
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What Makes This Rabbit Special?
Looks and Size
The Sumatran striped rabbit is about 37 to 42 centimeters (14 to 16 inches) long, not including its tiny 1.7-centimeter (0.7-inch) tail. It weighs around 1.5 kilograms (3.3 pounds), which is about the same as a small house cat.
This rabbit has a unique look with dark brown or black stripes on a yellowish-grey body. Towards its back, the fur turns a rusty brown color. Its belly, the inside of its legs, and under its chin are whitish. Its ears are very short and black. They only reach its eyes when folded forward. Its legs are grey-brown, and its small tail is reddish.
You can tell it apart from other rabbits, like the European rabbit, because of its stripes. European rabbits are usually plain grey-brown and have slightly longer ears. The Sumatran striped rabbit has soft, thick fur with some longer, rougher hairs on top.
Family Tree
For a long time, the Sumatran striped rabbit was thought to be the only rabbit in its group, called Nesolagus. But in 2000, scientists discovered another striped rabbit, the Annamite striped rabbit, living far away. This means they are like cousins!
Where Do Sumatran Striped Rabbits Live?
This rabbit is found only in the Barisan Mountains in Sumatra, Indonesia. It has been seen in the northwest, west, and southwest parts of Sumatra. There's even one record from Gunung Leuser National Park.
These rabbits live in forests that are high up, between 600 and 1600 meters (about 2,000 to 5,200 feet) above sea level. They are one of the few types of rabbits that choose to live in dense rainforests. They especially like montane forests, which are mountain forests, with volcanic soil.
What Do They Do All Day?
Daily Life and Diet
Because these rabbits are rare and live in remote forests, scientists don't know much about their daily lives. They are nocturnal, which means they are active at night. During the day, they rest in the burrows of other animals.
Their usual diet includes the stalks and leaves of small plants that grow under the taller trees in the forest. If they are kept in captivity, they can eat grains and tropical fruits.
Interestingly, local people in Indonesia often don't even have a specific name for the Sumatran rabbit because they don't know it exists! The words they use for "rabbit" often come from other languages or are used for other animals like cats.
Why Are They in Danger?
The biggest threat to the Sumatran striped rabbit is that its forest home is disappearing. People are cutting down more and more trees for timber, to create tea and coffee farms, and to build places for humans to live. This deforestation means less and less space for these special rabbits to survive.
Seeing a Sumatran Striped Rabbit
These rabbits are very shy and hard to find. After one sighting in 1972, no one reported seeing a Sumatran striped rabbit again until 2000, when one was photographed.
Since then, there have been a few more sightings, mostly in Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park:
- In January 2007, a camera trap (a special camera that takes pictures when an animal walks by) photographed one.
- In September 2008, a scientist from the WWF photographed one.
- In June 2009, another one was seen.
- In 2011, more were photographed by camera traps in Bukit Barisan Selatan and Kerinci Seblat National Parks.
- In 2022, a farmer found a live rabbit after a flash flood and tried to sell it online. Park authorities quickly took the rabbit and returned it safely to the wild.
- It has also been seen several times in the Isau-Isau Wildlife Reserve.
Protecting the Sumatran Striped Rabbit
The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) lists the Sumatran striped rabbit as "Data Deficient." This means scientists don't have enough information about how many of them there are or where exactly they live.
It is rarely seen and is thought to be uncommon in its habitat. Its rarity might be because of deforestation and the loss of its home. Because there isn't enough information about where they live and how many there are, plans to protect them haven't received enough funding yet. More research is needed to help save this unique rabbit.
