The
Sumatran Striped Rabbit (
Nesolagus netscheri), also known as the
Sumatra Short-eared Rabbit or
Sumatran Rabbit, is a
rabbitRabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world. There are seven different genera in the family classified as rabbits, including the European rabbit , Cottontail rabbit , and the Amami rabbit...
found only in forest in the
Barisan MountainsThe Bukit Barisan mountains are a mountain range on the western side of Sumatra, Indonesia, covering nearly 1,700 km of the island. The Bukit Barisan range consists primarily of volcanoes shrouded in dense jungle cover. The highest peak of the range is Mount Kerinci at 3,800 metres...
in western
SumatraSumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world .-Etymology:Sumatra was known in ancient times by the Sanskrit...
,
IndonesiaThe Republic of Indonesia is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia comprises 17,508 islands. With an estimated population of around 237 million people, it is the world's fourth most populous country, with the world's largest population of Muslims.Indonesia is a republic, with an...
. It is listed as a critically endangered species — its rarity may be due to deforestation and habitat loss.
The rabbit is usually about 40 cm (1 ft, 4 in) long. It is gray with brown stripes, with a red tail and rump, and the underside is white.
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The
Sumatran Striped Rabbit (
Nesolagus netscheri), also known as the
Sumatra Short-eared Rabbit or
Sumatran Rabbit, is a
rabbitRabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world. There are seven different genera in the family classified as rabbits, including the European rabbit , Cottontail rabbit , and the Amami rabbit...
found only in forest in the
Barisan MountainsThe Bukit Barisan mountains are a mountain range on the western side of Sumatra, Indonesia, covering nearly 1,700 km of the island. The Bukit Barisan range consists primarily of volcanoes shrouded in dense jungle cover. The highest peak of the range is Mount Kerinci at 3,800 metres...
in western
SumatraSumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world .-Etymology:Sumatra was known in ancient times by the Sanskrit...
,
IndonesiaThe Republic of Indonesia is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia comprises 17,508 islands. With an estimated population of around 237 million people, it is the world's fourth most populous country, with the world's largest population of Muslims.Indonesia is a republic, with an...
. It is listed as a critically endangered species — its rarity may be due to deforestation and habitat loss.
The rabbit is usually about 40 cm (1 ft, 4 in) long. It is gray with brown stripes, with a red tail and rump, and the underside is white. It lives in forests at altitudes of 600-1400 metres. It is nocturnal, resting in the
burrowA burrow is a hole or tunnel dug into the ground by an animal to create a space suitable for habitation, temporary refuge, or as a byproduct of locomotion. Burrows provide a form of shelter against predation and exposure to the elements, so the burrowing way of life is quite popular among the...
s of other animals. It usually eats the stalk and leaves of understory plants, but captive rabbits ate grain, and tropical fruits.
Sightings of the species have only been reported three times since 1972, most recently in late January 2007 in a photograph taken with a
camera trapA camera trap is an automated camera used to capture photographs of wild animals. A camera trap is installed in a site that a rarely-seen animal is expected to visit. When a motion or infrared sensor detects the presence of an animal, a photo is taken...
installed in
Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park-Range:The park has a total area of 3,568 km², and spans three provinces:* Lampung,* Bengkulu,* South SumatraStarting as a Wildlife Sanctuary in 1935, the area became a National Park in 1982...
.
Related species
This rabbit was the sole representative of the genus
NesolagusNesolagus is a genus of rabbits containing two species of striped rabbit, the Annamite Striped Rabbit and the Sumatran Striped Rabbit.-Species:* Genus Nesolagus ** Annamite Striped Rabbit, Nesolagus timminsi...
until the
Annamite Striped RabbitThe Annamite Striped Rabbit is a species of rabbit native to the Annamite mountain range on the Laos-Vietnam border. The rabbit is striped, with a red rump, and resembles the Sumatran Striped Rabbit. It only recently became known to western scientists.- External links :* at bbc.co.uk* at...
was discovered in the Annamite Mountains between
LaosLaos , officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and People's Republic of China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
and
VietnamVietnam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam , is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea to the east...
.