Smith's red rock hare
The Rotkaninchen ( Pronolagus rupestris ) is a species of African Rotkaninchen among lagomorphs. Its distribution is limited to the south and east Africa.
Features
The three types of Rotkaninchen differ only slightly from each other and the system is not yet fully understood. Characteristic compared to other rabbits in Africa are the tan to brown color, which also includes the tail, as well as the comparatively short ears of the animals. However, be - Natal The wool tail rabbit is the largest species of Rotkaninchen distinguished the three species, only due to small differences in coat color and the skull dimensions.
The body length of the rabbit is like that of the related species, depending on the source of 35 to 50 or 38 to 56 centimeters, the tail is 5 to 10 and from 3.5 to 13.5 inches long. The ears have a length of 6 to 10 inches and the hind feet of 7.5 to 10 centimeters. Body weight is 2 to 2.5 or from 1.35 to 3.05 kilogram.
Dissemination
The distribution area of Rotkaninchens consists of two separate areas in the south of the African continent. The southerly includes parts of South Africa and extends to Lesotho, one of them separate population lives in an area of southwestern Kenya to Tanzania in the central, eastern Zambia and Malawi.
Way of life
The Rotkaninchen comes in rocky areas with shrubby vegetation or grassland in hilly and mountainous regions before. Like all Rotkaninchen it is mainly active at night and rest during the day in caves.
The Rotkaninchen feeds mostly on young, sprouting grasses. The breeding season extends throughout the year, with the females give birth to one to two cubs per litter was born.
System
The Rotkaninchen is assigned as an independent species the Rotkaninchen ( genus Pronolagus ). After each species, even when IUCN Pronolagus saundersiae is considered as a separate species, this is done by Wilson & Reeder 2005 as a subspecies of Pronolagus rupestris.
Threats and conservation
The Rotkaninchen is classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources ( IUCN) as not at risk ( least concern ). Current estimates from a population size of more than 10,000 animals in South Africa, the population decline for South Africa is estimated at about 10 % until 2022.
Due to the limited natural availability of the preferred habitat of the animals it comes into their area of distribution already in a strong fragmentation of populations. A further change of the habitat was carried out by the increasing colonization of habitats. In this way, the habitats since 1900 declined by about 20%, forecasts predict a further habitat loss from about 20% to 2022. The Rotkaninchen is also a popular hunting - both for sport hunting, as well as for the food supply.