The Columbia Basin Pygmy Rabbit
Written by Justin Canterberry
The Columbia Basin Pygmy Rabbit is most notable for being the smallest native rabbit to North America; typically weighing less than a pound and measuring less than a foot in length. They are found amidst the Columbia Basin ecosystem, specifically in habitats with large amounts of sagebrush, which is their staple for both food and shelter. Also, they have the unique ability to burrow, which they then use for shelter, safety, thermal cover, and reproductive activities. Columbia Basin Pygmy Rabbits play an important role in arid sagebrush ecosystems: benefiting the structure of plant communities, enabling greater nutrient cycling, and being a prey item for many predators.
Geographic and Population Changes
For the last 100,000 years, these rabbits have had a presence in the Columbia Basin ecosystem, which is considered as northern Oregon through central Washington. Neighboring states such as Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, and California all boast populations of pygmy rabbits. However, isolation for many thousands of years has made these pygmy rabbits all genetically distinct sub populations. During the beginning of the 20th century, it was observed for these rabbits to have populations in the six Washington counties of Douglas, Grant, Lincoln, Adams, Franklin, and Benton. By 1993, their populations had diminished to approximately 150 pygmy rabbits, which in 2001, then decreased to less than 30 rabbits in all of Washington.
Threats and Endangerment
A couple years later, in 2003, the Columbia Basin Pygmy Rabbit was fully listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. There were many factors that contributed to the rabbit’s decline, but it is thought the greatest factor to be agricultural development overtime, which destroyed and fragmented the pygmy rabbit’s natural habitat. As with most species, once their population decreased below a particular number, they became more at risk to influences that normally would not be as tasking, such as chance environmental events, predation, and disease. At the time of listing, the main threats to Columbia Basin Pygmy Rabbits were small population size, loss of genetic diversity, inbreeding, and lack of suitable habitat.
The Journey to Recovery
The goal of the Recovery Plan is to help reestablish the number, distribution, and safety of the Columbia Basin Pygmy Rabbit, enabling it to have self sustaining populations that will be able to endure any foreseeable threats in the future. It has been and will be quite the road to reach that goal, but there has been huge amounts of effort and large steps in that direction. Besides protecting and maintaining suitable habit, a crucial part in the recovery of these rabbits has been a captive breeding program to help boost population sizes and genetic diversity. To counteract low genetic diversity and interbreeding amongst the rabbits, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife designed a intercross breeding strategy, which, with much trouble and time, cross bred the Columbia Basin pygmy with a population of pygmy rabbits from Idaho. Unfortunately, in 2007, when 20 of these crossbred rabbits were reintroduced back into their native habitat, they experienced an extremely high mortality rate, and within a year, they had completely died off. Taking into account everything learned through that trial, scientists were able to adapt their managing strategy and take greater measures in sustaining the pygmy rabbits upon release. One key measure taken was to release the rabbits in protected semi-wild enclosures, which would help adjustment and boost numbers of rabbits to then release into the wild. Since 2011, there have been over 1300 kits that have been birthed, which has then led to the release of over 1200 rabbits to the wild in Sagebrush Flat Wildlife Area in Douglas County.
The Fight is Not Over Yet!
The recovery of Columbia Basin Pygmy Rabbits is still in the process, as populations are beginning to be reintroduced to new recovery areas and still are susceptible to many of the threats that initially led to their decline. There are many ways that we can step up and help aid the recovery of these rabbits, along with several other species that are facing extinction. One way to help would be to donate and support varying groups that protect and research animal species and habitats (Below are a couple links: check it out yourself to see what they’re all about). I believe the most important way to help is to be aware. There are thousands of species that are on the road to being completely wiped off the face of the earth, and an overwhelming majority of the factors are consequence of human action. We have thrown off the balance and harmony of nature, and it is our moral obligation to take strides to re-correct and recover what is being lost.
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