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  PlanetArk 10 Apr 07
Rare Striped Rabbit Spotted in Indonesia Rainforest

JAKARTA - One of the world's rarest rabbits has been captured on camera in Indonesia's rainforests for only the third time ever, a leading conservation group said on Thursday.

The Sumatran striped rabbit -- a little over a foot long and chalk coloured with dark brown stripes -- is critically endangered and was last photographed in the Bukit Barisan Park in 2000, the World Conservation Society (WCF) said in a statement.

A programme manager at WCF's Indonesian office, Nick Brickle, said the rabbit was photographed in a forest in south Sumatra at the end of January.

"It is a nocturnal animal. Other than that, we do not know more about it," Brickle told Reuters, describing it as about 30 cm (12 inches) long and similar in size to a small cat. "They live in forests, up in the mountains. What you need to protect the rabbit is protect the forest."

The WCF statement said the rabbit was only known to exist in the mountains of Sumatra and was thought to be the only representative of its genus.

In 1999 researchers discovered another striped rabbit in the Annamite Mountains straddling Laos and Vietnam, but although both seem similar in appearance genetic samples revealed that the two were separate species.

BBC 11 Apr 07
Striped rabbit spotted in Sumatra

One of the rarest species of rabbit in the world has been spotted for only the third time in the last 35 years.

The Sumatran striped rabbit was photographed in late January on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, the Wildlife Conservation Society said.

The species is listed as critically endangered by the World Conservation Union, due to loss of habitat. The rabbit was previously photographed in 2000, with the last sighting by a scientist back in 1972.

Habitat risk

The 30cm-long rabbit was photographed by a camera trap in Bukit Barisan National Park, said Colin Poole, director of the Wildlife Conservation Society's Asia Program.

The sighting also highlighted the need to protect the habitat of the species, also known as Nesolagus netscheri , from threats such as farming, he said.

"This rabbit is so poorly known that any proof of its continued existence at all is great news, and confirms the conservation importance of Sumatra's forests," Mr Poole said.

Back in 1999, researchers discovered another species of striped rabbit in the Annamite Mountains between Laos and Vietnam, and named it the Annamite striped rabbit. Genetic samples revealed the species were distinct, though closely related, most likely diverging about 8 million years ago.
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