Sanbona Wildlife Reserve achieves 101 Riverine Rabbit sightings
Submitted by: The P.R TeamPart of Shamwari Group, the Sanbona Wildlife Reserve on Route 62, close to Cape Town, has recently celebrated its 101 sightings of the critically endangered Riverine Rabbit.
The Riverine Rabbit was discovered at Sanbona Wildlife Reserve in 2006 which is over 54, 000 hectares in size and research has shown that that there was no human disturbance or changes in habitat on the reserve which is important to the conservation of the rabbits that are battling against the fragmentation of available habitat.
The discovery of the Riverine Rabbit at Sanbona led to the launch of a monitoring program. The nocturnal habitats of the species have ensured that this has been no easy task but highlights the importance that Sanbona plays in the conservation of the Riverine Rabbit in the Little Karoo. The refuge created for the critically endangered species from agricultural activities and other threats such as hunting and poaching is paramount and Sanbona is working towards a Stewardship agreement with CapeNature to ensure the vital role of Sanbona in biodiversity conservation continues for many years to some.
The Riverine Rabbit was recognised as a new species by a British trooper in the Great Karoo during the Second Anglo Boer War. The rabbit continued in obscurity until 1947, however, no real interest was taken in the rabbit until 1978 when studies were conducted and research showed almost no rabbits were identified, and they discovered that the habitat available to the Riverine Rabbit had been lost to agriculture.
The loss of habitat has been devastating to the Riverine Rabbit and has been listed by the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) in the Red List of Threatened Species as Critically Endangered with a risk of extinction due to a decreasing population. With only a few hundred rabbits thought to still survive in the wild the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) launched the Riverine Rabbit Program in 2003 to increase awareness about the plight of the rabbits and to rehabilitate habitat within the Riverine fringes of the Great and Little Karoo.
"Conserving a Vanishing Way of Life"
This press release was distributed on behalf of our client, Shamwari Group
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