A camera trap photo of the rare Annamite striped rabbit . The species is found in Bidoup- Nui Ba National Park (Bidoup NP), located just 20km from Da Lat city. (Photo courtesy of Bidoup-Nui Ba National Park, the Southern Institute of Ecology, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research)The remarkable finding, which was made in September 2020 by Vietnamese andinternational scientists from the International Centre for Tropical HighlandsEcosystems Research of Bidoup NP, the Southern Institute of Ecology, LeibnizInstitute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, and Global Wildlife Conservation, wasrecently reported by Mammalia, an international science journal.
According to Dr Le Van Huong, director of Bidoup NP, the discovery of this newpopulation in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong is important for theconservation of this highly-threatened species.
“For the next step, we will conduct extensive surveys with our partners toinvestigate the conservation status of the Annamite striped rabbit and whichecological factors are driving the occurrence of this species," Huong said.
“We are concerned that the decline of the population will lead to localityextinction of this only-known population of Annamite striped rabbits in thesouthern Annamites. We are also looking to implement conservation actions toprotect this endemic species, as part of our efforts to protect the widerbiodiversity that makes Bidoup-Nui Ba National Park so special,” he said.
Before this discovery, the species was only known to occur in the northern andcentral Annamites, and the new finding is almost 400km south of its previouslyknown distribution, the report revealed.
The species is listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List as a result ofintensive snaring across its range.
The Annamite striped rabbit is one more addition to a long list of rare andthreatened species that are found in Bidoup NP. The surveys also documentedother endangered species, including large-antlered muntjac, Owston’s civet, andsun bear – making Bidoup Nui Ba National Park one of the most biodiverseprotected areas in Vietnam for mammal and bird species.
“We were really surprised to see Annamite striped rabbit on our camera traps,”said Dr Andreas Wilting, senior scientist of the Leibniz Institute for Zoo andWildlife Research.
“Nobody thought that the species would turn up so far south from its presumedrange. It shows how little is still known about the biodiversity of theAnnamite forests.”
Lead researcher An Nguyen, a PhD student at the Leibniz Institute for Zoo, aGerman Academy Exchange Service (DAAD) scholarship holder, and WildlifeResearch and Associate Conservation Scientist with Global WildlifeConservation, noted the importance of communicating this finding within Vietnam.
“Many Vietnamese probably know the wildlife in Africa better than the wildlifein their home country. We need to change that so that people know how specialthe biodiversity in Vietnam is, and why it is so important to protect thesespecies.”
The scientists plan to follow up on the finding by conducting additionalsurveys to assess the population status and how genetically unique it is fromother populations.
Duy Le from the Southern Institute of Ecology said: “We are working hard to getadditional information on the new striped rabbit population. The upcominggenetic research and field surveys to assess the population status of theAnnamite striped rabbit will provide important scientific-based information forplanning and conducting conservation actions to protect this endemic species.”
According to the report, the Annamite striped rabbit is a little-known andendangered lagomorph endemic to the Annamites ecoregion of Vietnam and Laos.The species’ known distribution extends from the northern to central Annamites.
The first records of the species from the southern Annamites and a significantsouthern range extension were made by a camera trap in the park.
The Annamite striped rabbit was discovered in the mid-1990s from marketspecimens in Laos and formally described in 2000.
Since its discovery, biologists have begun to piece together basic aspects ofthe Annamite striped rabbit’s ecology and distribution, though knowledge gapsremain. All information indicates that the Annamite striped rabbit isrestricted to wet evergreen forest with little or no prolonged dry season.Because of the rain shadow effect in the Annamites, most wet evergreen forestoccurs on the eastern slopes of the mountain range and as a result, themajority of the animals are in Vietnam.
The Annamite striped rabbit has been recorded as far north as Nghe An provinceand adjacent Bolikhamxay Province in Laos. The southernmost known records comefrom Quang Nam province and neighbouring parts of Sekong province in Laos./.
VNA
