Yarkand hare
The Yarkand hare (Lepus yarkandensis ) is a mammal in the genus of the Real hares among lagomorphs. It is endemic in the Tarim Basin in the northwest of the People's Republic of China located Autonomous Region of Xinjiang.
Features
The Yarkand Hare is a small species of rabbits with a body length between 28.5 to 43 inches and weighing 1.1 to 1.9 kg. The head, the body and the top of the tail are plain beige with a pink wrap in the summer. The body sides are yellowish sand color and the belly is white. Unlike other hare species he has no quarrel turned black hair on the tail. The long ears also have no black tip. The greatest similarity is with the Kaphasen (Lepus capensis ).
Dissemination
The distribution area of the Yarkand hare is limited to the Tarim Basin in the Chinese province of Xinjiang. The area of the species forms a ring around the Taklamakan desert, as the animals of the vegetation and thus the humidity of the coming of the mountains flows are dependent.
The preferred habitat are cottonwood forests, shrubby bushes Tamariskenbestände and along the rivers, farmland he avoids.
Way of life
The Yarkand Hare is mostly active at night with the main activity in the early morning and after sunset, but it can also be observed during the day. It feeds mainly on grasses and herbs, but also of crops and therefore can locally cause damage to watermelon plantations. He built flat depressions in the vegetation under bushes. At water points several individuals can be observed simultaneously.
About the propagation, there are few data. The mating season extends from February probably into September. In the year there will be two to three litters, the litters include two to five pups.
System
The Yarkand Hare is assigned as an independent species the genuine rabbit ( genus Lepus ). Subspecies are not described.
Threats and conservation
The Yarkand Hare is hunted mainly because of its fur and flesh, about 10,000 animals were annually 1958-1981 shot and produced skins. Although the rabbit is not regionally rare, it is assumed that the population has declined in recent years, mainly because of habitat change due to increasing agricultural use moderately by about 30%. Gene flow between the populations is still low due to the increasing isolation on island habitats.
The species is classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN ) due to the relatively large distribution area even as a sort of early warning ( " near threatened "). Concrete data on population trends, however, are not available.