Rare Wash. rabbits born at Oregon Zoo

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By KOMO Staff

Summary

The Oregon Zoo has welcomed a new litter of rare breed of Washington rabbits battling extinction. Twenty six new endangered Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit kits were born at the zoo this breeding season, zoo officials said.

Story Published: Oct 12, 2009 at 9:18 PM PDT

Story Updated: Oct 13, 2009 at 11:17 AM PDT

Rare Wash. rabbits born at Oregon Zoo

Image provided by the Oregon Zoo.

PORTLAND, Ore. -- The Oregon Zoo has welcomed a new litter of rare breed of Washington rabbits battling extinction.

Twenty six new endangered Columbian Basin pygmy rabbit kits were born at the zoo this breeding season, zoo officals said.

The declaration prompted state biologists to capture the remaining 14 rabbits in the wild and launch an emergency captive-breeding program.

The Oregon Zoo began breeding pygmy rabbits in December 2000 when Idaho pygmy rabbits arrived as surrogates for the vulnerable Columbia Basin rabbits.

Zoo staff members began researching the animal's behavior nuances and activity patterns, and in 2001, it became the first zoo in the world to successfully breed Idaho pygmy rabbits.

Five years later, its attempts to breed Columbia Basin pygmy rabbits also so saw great success, yielding a record number of births and 32 surviving kits.

According to zoo officials, pygmy rabbits are the only North American rabbits that dig burrows and live in a sagebrush habitat. They may have two to four litters of about two to six kits during the spring and summer breeding seasons.

Predation and habitat loss caused by agricultural development and wildfires are blamed as the main causes of the pygmy rabbits' decline.

In all, 73 pygmy rabbit kits were born this breeding season at participating breeding facilities.