Animal Info - Tehuantepec Jackrabbit

(Other Names: Liebre, Liebre Tropical, Tehuantepec Hare, Tehuantepec Jack Rabbit)

Lepus flavigularis

Status: Endangered

1. Profile (Picture)
2. Tidbits
3. Status and Trends (IUCN Status, Countries Where Currently Found, History of Distribution, Threats and Reasons for Decline)
4. Data on Biology and Ecology (Habitat, Birth Season, Diet, Behavior, Social Organization)
5. References

Profile

Pictures: Tehuantepec Jackrabbit (31 Kb JPEG) (AMCELA)

The Tehuantepec jackrabbit is exclusively nocturnal. It lives in sand dunes and scrubby, riparian vegetation on the shores of salt water lagoons. Green plant material and seeds comprise its diet. The Tehuantepec jackrabbit is solitary.

The Tehuantepec jackrabbit occurs only in a four to five km (2.5 - 3.1 mi) wide strip along the shores of salt water lagoons on the north side of the Gulf of Tehuantepec, from Salina Cruz, Oaxaca, to the extreme west of the State of Chiapas, Mexico.

Increasing clearance for agriculture is destroying most of its habitat. In addition, it is shot by deer hunters.

Tidbits

*** Little is known about the Tehuantepec jackrabbit. It may be similar in its behavior to other jackrabbits.

*** Rabbits (belonging to many different genera) vs. Hares (all in the genus Lepus): The major differences between rabbits and hares include: 1.) their methods in avoiding predators (rabbits hide in dense vegetation or burrows; hares have longer legs and try to outrun predators), and 2.) the characteristics of their young at birth (newborn rabbits ("kittens") are born naked and with their eyes closed; newborn hares ("leverets") are better developed - their eyes are open and they can move around with some degree of coordination) (Macdonald 2001).

Status and Trends

IUCN Status:

1994: Endangered
1996 - 2004: Endangered (Criteria: A1ac) (IUCN 2004)

Countries Where the Tehuantepec Jackrabbit Is Currently Found:

2004: Occurs along the north side of the Gulf of Tehuantepec, in southern Mexico (Chapman & Flux 1990; IUCN 2004).

History of Distribution:

The Tehuantepec jackrabbit occurs only in a four to five km (2.5 - 3.1 mi) wide strip along the shores of salt water lagoons on the north side of the Gulf of Tehuantepec, from Salina Cruz, Oaxaca, to the extreme west of the State of Chiapas, Mexico.

Distribution Map #1 (14 Kb) (InfoNatura)
Distribution Map #2 (31 Kb GIF) (AMCELA)

Threats and Reasons for Decline:

Increasing clearance for agriculture is destroying most of its habitat. In addition, it is shot by deer hunters.

Data on Biology and Ecology

Habitat:

Currently it exists only in riparian vegetation, sand dune and shrub forest, which never exceeds a 4 to 5 km (2.5 - 3.1 mi) wide strip along the shores of salt water lagoons on the north side of the Gulf of Tehuantepec.

The Tehuantepec jackrabbit is one of the species that live in the Mesoamerica Biodiversity Hotspot (Cons. Intl.).

Birth Season:

Pregnant females, one carrying 2 embryos, have been recorded in February. (Reid 1997)

Diet:

The Tehuantepec jackrabbit eats green plant material and seeds.

Behavior:

Jackrabbits generally nest in shallow depressions lined with leaves, usually in the shade.

Social Organization:

The Tehuantepec jackrabbit is solitary.

References

AMCELA, Chapman & Flux 1990, Cons. Intl., InfoNatura, IUCN 1994, IUCN 1996, IUCN 2000, IUCN 2003a, IUCN 2004, Macdonald 1984, Macdonald 2001, Reid 1997

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