Pygmy rabbit recovery efforts continue

The rabbit scampered under the boardwalk near the front door of the Grant County Historical Society Museum.

 It was spooked by a visitor who reported the sighting to museum staff. They, in turn, called Fish and Wildlife, who indicated the rabbit was most likely a cottontail and not a pygmy.

The main indicator for the wildlife biologist was pygmy rabbits live in sagebrush as its one their major food sources, with grass and new vegetation also on their diet.

Plus there just aren't many of these little critters left in the world.

Considered the smallest known rabbit in the world, they are less than a foot long and weigh around a pound, with females larger than males.

Although they will use burrows abandoned by other species such as skunks and prairie dogs, they are the only rabbit to dig their own burrows (Glenn, C. R. 2006. "Earth's Endangered Creatures - Pygmy Rabbit Facts").

According to Fish and Wildlife pygmy rabbits have lived in the Columbia Basin, the Columbia Plateau and Great Basin of the western U.S. for more than 100,000 years.

The rabbits in the Columbia Basin have been isolated from the rest of the population for at least 10,000 years, which has led to genetic differences between the rabbits in Washington and the other states.

The pygmy rabbit was state listed as a threatened species in Washington in 1990 because of population and distribution declines due to habitat changes.

It was reclassified as state endangered in 1993 as declines continued, and except for a remnant population on the state's Sagebrush Flats Wildlife Area, the pygmy rabbit was considered near extinct by 2001.

The distinct population segment of the species known as the Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit was listed in 2003 as an endangered species under the federal Endangered Species Act.

A last-ditch effort of captive breeding was started in 2001 by Fish and Wildlife, and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service with the intent of eventually reintroducing rabbits to the wild. Only 15 Columbia Basin pygmy rabbits remained in the Sagebrush Flats area in 2002.

This effort proved challenging. The first release of 20 animals was not successful as the rabbits were quickly eliminated, mainly by predators.

The effort was renewed with collaboration between the Oregon Zoo, Washington State University, Northwest Trek Wildlife Park, USFWS and other state wildlife agencies.

This spring, 42 wild rabbits from Nevada and Utah and more captive-born rabbits from Oregon Zoo boosted the local population.

The recovery plan includes reintroducing captive-bred rabbits, introducing wild-caught from neighboring states, and breeding wild and captive rabbits at the Sagebrush Flats site.

All released pygmy rabbits will be closely monitored to collect data on breeding, habitat use, mortalities and other parameters to modify reintroduction techniques and adaptively manage the newly-formed population.

The Oregon Zoo's part of the effort will come to an end today when the zoo releases the last 14 breeding animals, plus their young, at the Sagebrush Flat site.

The rabbits will initially live in a protective enclosure covering six acres. This will allow them to become familiarized with their new home and protect them from predators.

There is hope for the pygmy rabbit population. Rabbits recently released from the enclosure have been tracked and are, so far, successfully living in the area.

In addition, the zoo and its conservation partners collected 47 wild pygmy rabbits from Utah and Nevada and released most of them at Sagebrush Flat. Conservation officials hope the wild rabbits will breed with rabbits raised at the zoo.

This cross-breeding will strengthen the endangered Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit stock and increase its chance of a successful recovery.

More than 1,600 pygmy rabbits have been born in captivity. More than 600 of these lived long enough to receive names and many went on to breed and produce offspring.

According to Fish and Wildlife, a female pygmy rabbit named Shasta gave birth to 67 kits and lived more than five years when the average life expectancy is three.

Washington pygmy rabbits were crossed with Idaho, Nevada and Oregon pygmy rabbits to increase genetic diversity and reduce inbreeding.

The last purebred Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit named Bryn died in 2008.

The pygmy rabbit recovery efforts continue, and the little critters live within a few miles of the Grant County seat.