![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Burrow systems are generally found on mounds or gentle slopes.īig sagebrush is the primary food source, comprising 90 percent of the winter diet, but grasses and forbs are also eaten in spring and summer. Burrows are used for shelter, thermoregulation (to regulate body temperature), and safety from predators. The pygmy rabbit is one of only two North American rabbits known to dig its own burrows. Pygmy rabbits are sagebrush obligates, depending on this habitat for survival. Dense stands of sagebrush provide pygmy rabbits with year-round food and shelter. Native, perennial grasses and forbs provide an important food source beginning in spring and especially in summer and fall and deep, friable soils allow them to construct burrows. See this fact sheet to learn more about this disease.Ī pygmy rabbit at its burrow site in shrubsteppe habitat. Though WDFW has been diligently administering vaccines, it is imperative that volunteers working with pygmy rabbits are aware of exposure risk and help prevent the spread of RDHV2. Fortunately, RDHV2 has not yet infected the pygmy rabbit population in Washington state. NOTE: “Rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus serotype 2” (RHDV2) is a fatal viral disease to rabbits with an estimated 90% mortality rate and no cure. Corridors of dense shrub cover connecting areas of suitable habitat and private lands enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program are critical to recovery efforts. Corridors of dense shrub cover connecting areas of suitable habitat are critical to recovery efforts. ![]() Reintroduction efforts utilize semi-wild breeding enclosures to produce juveniles that are released into suitable habitat with the goal of establishing self-sufficient populations. Endangered Species Act. Conservation threats to the Columbian Basin pygmy rabbit include loss and degradation of shrubsteppe primarily due to conversion and fragmentation of this habitat to cropland and development. The population of Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit in Washington is extremely small and is designated as a Distinct Population Segment for protection under the U.S. Monofilament recovery and recycling program. ![]()
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