The Riverine Rabbit

IUCN Red List status: Critically endangered

This little nocturnal rabbit can only be found in the Karoo regions and is currently the most endangered mammal in South Africa. It only lives in the deep silt flood plains of seasonal Karoo rivers and can’t be found anywhere else in the world, making it incredibly vulnerable to habitat loss.

Commonly known as the vleihaas, boshaas, doekvoetjie or pondhaas, the riverine rabbit is found only in the riverine scrub of the central Karoo. The first two names arose from its occurrence in the relatively moist and dense habitat along the seasonal rivers of the area. "Doekvoetjie" refers to the broad hind paws which are furred underfoot. During the 1940s the curator of the Kaffrarian Museum offered a pound for each riverine rabbit brought to him, hence the name "pondhaas".

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IDENTIFICATION

The attractive riverine rabbit is easily identified by the black stripe running from the corner of its mouth over its cheek, a brown woolly tail, creamy fur on its belly and throat, and a broad, club-like hind foot. In the field hares can be distinguished from rabbits by their black and white tails. The tails of rabbits are usually uniformly coloured. Male riverine rabbits weigh approximately 1,5 kg and females 1,8 kg.

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HABITS AND FEEDING

Riverine rabbits feed on their favourite foods, the boegoe bush and ink bush at night, and rest up in forms during the day. A form is a shallow scrape made in the soil under a bush. Two types of droppings are produced. At night, when the rabbit is active, hard pellets are deposited. During the day droppings are soft, taken directly from the anus, and swallowed. In this way the riverine rabbit obtains vitamin B, produced by bacteria in the hind gut, and minerals such as calcium and phosphorus are recycled.

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WHY ENDANGERED?

The riverine rabbit is an endangered species, i.e. it is in danger of extinction and its survival is unlikely if the factors causing the decline remain in effect. The most devastating threat to the riverine rabbit is the loss of its habitat. This habitat is limited to the alluvial floodplains of seasonal rivers in the central Karoo. These flood plains, only 100 - 200 m wide, are formed when the rivers overflow during floods, and deposit silt on their banks. This soil is very good for cultivation compared with other soils found in the dry Karoo. Over the past 50 years over two-thirds of the riverine rabbit's habitat has been ploughed over for this purpose. Other threats to the riverine rabbit's survival include overgrazing and hunting. Overgrazing of riverine habitat opens up cover that the rabbit needs for shelter and to escape predation.

The only way to secure the long term survival of a species is to protect its natural habitat. Some Karoo farmers have declared their farms Natural Heritage Sites to protect the riverine habitat and rabbit. The Dept. of Environment and Cultural Affairs (previously Cape Nature Conservation) encourages farmers to form conservancies for the same purpose (a conservancy is a number of adjacent farms on which landowners cooperate with each other to conserve nature).

Leaving the riverine habitat intact has advantages for both the farmers and the riverine rabbit. The Karoo experiences frequent droughts. Enough rain for cultivation falls during only a few years every decade. It would be more productive in the long-term to use the riverine habitat for grazing rather than to reap the short-lived benefit of ploughing it for cultivation.

Riverine vegetation also binds the soil, preventing it from being washed away in floods and promotes filtration of rainwater to groundwater - another benefit for the farmer who uses windmills to draw up water for his livestock.

A captive breeding colony is run at the De Wildt Cheetah Research Station, outside Pretoria. Plans are afoot to reintroduce rabbits bred in this colony to suitable habitat where they no longer occur.

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DID YOU KNOW?

* The riverine rabbit is found only in the central Karoo and nowhere else in the entire world! This means that the rabbit is endemic to this area.

* South Africa has two hare species, the Cape hare and the scrub hare, and four rabbit species. These are the Natal rabbit, Smith's rabbit, Jameson's red rock rabbit, and the riverine rabbit.

* South African rabbits and hares produce 1 - 3 young per litter. The further away from the equator rabbit and hare species occur, the larger their litter sizes. For example, Alaskan snowshoe hares have seven young per litter.

* A male rabbit is called a buck and a female a doe. 

Current conservation efforts
The Endangered Wildlife Trust runs a very active riverine rabbit conservation programme that aims to conserve the biodiversity of the Karoo region. They also encourage private landowners to participate in conservation stewardship.
How you can help
Contact the EWT if you live in the Karoo and you spot riverine rabbits. The more knowledge they have about their population and distribution, the easier it gets to protect them.
Make a donation toward the Riverine Conservation Programme.
Buy a Lindt Easter bunny next year. Lindt donates a certain percentage of each bunny purchased to conserving the riverine rabbit

The BLUE CRANE

The Blue Crane (Anthropoides paradiseus) belongs to the family Gruidae and is South Africa’s national bird.
The blue crane is currently listed as vunerable in the Eskom Red Data Book of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland and the 2010 International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Red List.  There are many threats facing the blue crane such as poisoning, illegal trade, habitat destruction, power line collisions, active persecution by landowners and many more.
Although the blue crane faces many threats, many conservation measures have been put in place to protect the species by various conservation bodies like the South African Crane Conservation Programme of the Endangered Wildlife Trust and the Overberg Crane Group. These groups have managed to form wonderful working relationships with landowners whose property the cranes live on, their staff, as well as the general public, in an effort to protect the blue crane.

DISTRIBUTION
The blue crane is a near-endemic to South Africa with a small isolated population of about 60-80 birds occurring around the Etosha Pans in Namibia and a few isolated birds in Botswana and Swaziland.  It is the most range restricted of all the cranes in the world and is abundant in limited areas of its range, but is rare in most areas of South Africa.

Within South Africa there are three main strongholds of this population.  The first is in the Overberg/Swartland regions of the Western Cape Province, the second is the central Karoo population of the southeastern region of the Northern Cape province and the western regions of the Eastern Cape province extending into the southern regions of the Free State, while the third is situated along the eastern section of the country and includes the southern parts of Mpumalanga, the northeastern Free State and parts of KwaZulu-Natal.

Historically, blue cranes occurred mainly in the grassland biome along the eastern section of the country.  The loss of the natural grasslands in the Free State, Northern Province, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal, and the replacement of the natural vegetation with wheat and dryland pastures in the wheat producing regions of the Swartland and Overberg in the Western Cape, changed the distribution and demographics of the blue crane population.
Today the largest numbers of blue cranes can be found in the Western Cape (± 12 000 birds), with a smaller population in the Northern/Eastern Cape (± 5 000 birds) and the rest (± 5 000 birds) occurring in the remainder of its current distribution range.

HABITAT
Blue cranes are mostly independent of wetlands and this allows them to be more widespread than the other crane species within South Africa.  With regards to natural vegetation, within South Africa the species can be found in the open grasslands and the grassland/Karoo ecotone, while in Namibia it occurs in the grasslands and dwarf shrublands fringing the pans.  The species is frequently found in agricultural fields and in the Western Cape it is restricted to cereal crop fields and dryland pastures.

FEEDING HABITS
Evidence suggest that the blue crane is primarily vegetarian and eats small bulbs, seeds and roots.  They do, however, eat a variety of insects (locusts, termites, caterpillars, grasshoppers, beetles, etc.), worms, crabs, fish, frogs, reptiles, and small mammals.  The blue crane is often reported doing damage in various agricultural crops, like wheat, barley and lucern.  In most cases the birds are feeding on spilled grain.  In the Overberg, they regularly feed from feed bins set out for sheep and ostriches.  Birds feed mostly by pecking, but they do dig using their bills.

BREEDING HABITS
Blue cranes only pair with one mate (monogamous), and despite being very social animals are extremely territorial while breeding, driving any other blue cranes from the breeding territory.  They nest in summer and the laying date can be anytime between August and April. Non-breeding birds form non-breeding flocks during this period.  After the chicks have fledged, they together with the adults join the non-breeding flocks to form large over-wintering groups.

Blue cranes nest in wetlands, open grasslands, Karoo and agricultural areas, where all-round visibility is good.  The birds often return to the same area and nest in the vicinity of the previous year’s nest.  Generally the nest is a scrape in the ground with a few stones and sheep dung scraped together.  In wetlands, however, they usually nest on a pad of vegetation.

A pair of blue cranes is said to mate for life and display a wonderful courtship dance which comprises of the two individuals jumping up and down with their wings extended. The birds are mature at about three to five years of age.  They usually lay two eggs with an incubation period of 30 to 33 days and both male and female incubate the eggs. Both chicks are frequently reared with each attempt and are fed on an initial diet of insect larvae and worms. The chicks are able to fly at about three to five months. The parents are very protective of their young and will guard them aggressively.
Mortality of chicks is high during the first year and is caused by a variety of disturbances. The following breeding season, the young juveniles will join the large flocks of non-breeding birds.

MIGRATION
Blue cranes are migratory only within South Africa and only within certain regions.  Little is known about the migratory habits and published statements are often contradictory.  In the Western Cape, evidence from satellite tracking and colour ringing suggest very localised movements within this region.

MOULTING
Blue cranes are known to go through both a partial moult as well as a complete moult, when they become flightless.  On the Agulhas plains, blue cranes go through a synchronised moulting during the second half of summer.  Birds going through flightless moult form large flocks in areas where disturbance is less frequent and close to water bodies into which they can escape when threatened.

 Birds going through a complete moult tend to be skittish and move away at the first sign of disturbance.  The cranes seem to use specific sites for moulting and these sites need to be identified and conserved. The time needed to re-grow flight feathers could take up to two months.

African wild dog

The African wild dog, also called the hunting dog, is a vanishing species in East Africa. Field studies have shown that the wild dog is a highly intelligent and social animal. Like most predators, it plays an important role in eliminating sick and weak animals, thereby helping maintain a natural balance and ultimately improving prey species. The stereotype of the wild dog as a cruel butcher is slowly being replaced by a less harsh image.

Physical Characteristics
The African wild dog is long-legged, with massive jaws and very large, erect batlike ears. Although it resembles some domestic dogs, it differs in that it has four toes on each foot instead of five.

The Latin name for the African wild dog means “painted wolf,” which aptly describes the colorful coat of dark brown, black and yellow patches. Wild dogs have bushy tails with white tips that may serve as a flag to keep the pack in contact while hunting

Habitat
Wild dogs live mostly in arid zones and in the savanna. They also are found in woodland and montane habitats where their prey lives.

Behavior
Wild dogs live in packs of six to 20. If the pack numbers fall below six, hunting efficiency is eroded. The dogs have a peculiar rather playful ceremony that bonds them for a common purpose and initiates each hunt. They start circulating among the other pack members, vocalizing and touching until they get excited and are ready to hunt. They start the hunt in an organized, cooperative manner. When prey is targeted, some of the dogs run close to the animal, while others follow behind, taking over when the leader tired. They can run long distances, at speeds up to about 35 miles per hour.

Of the large carnivores, wild dogs are the most efficient hunters – targeted prey rarely escapes. They tear the flesh until the animal falls, consuming even if it is still alive. This behavior may prejudice people against them, although in reality it may be no worse than the prolonged kills of other carnivores. Apart from its undeniable bloodiness, the remarkable aspect of the their hunting is the complete lack of aggression toward each other. Wild dogs have a social hierarchy but unlike many other social animals, there is little obvious intimidation. They have elaborate greeting rituals, accompanied by twittering and whining. Their large range of vocalizations includes a short bark of alarm, a rallying howl and a bell-like contact call that can be heard over long distances.

Diet
They usually hunt in the early morning and again in late evening, prettying on gazelles and other antelopes, warthogs, wildebeests calves and rat and birds. They may raid domestic stock, but as wild dogs seldom stay in one place for long, this damage is not extensive

Caring for the Young
A nuclear pack of about six dogs usually consists of one dominant breeding pair and several nonbreeding adult male helpers. Occasionally another female in the pack forms a subordinate breeding pair with one of the other males. A breeding female gives birth about once a year, with litters averaging about 10 pups, thought as many as 19 have been recorded. They pups are born in a shelter of thick bush or grass, or in a hole. Usually twice as many males are born. Unlike many other species, the female offspring leave the natal group when they reach maturity, not the males.

The hunting members of the pack return to the den where they regurgitate meat for the nursing female and pups. Although litters are very large, very few pups survive. Sometimes the dens are flooded, or the pups die from exposure or disease. When pack numbers are reduced, hunting is not as efficient and adults may not bring back sufficient food for the pups. The entire pack is involved in the welfare of the pups; both males and females babysit the young and provide food for them.

Predators
Throughout Africa wild dogs have been shot and poisoned by farmers, hunters and, at one time, by rangers who considered them as bloodthirsty raiders of livestocks and dispersers of wild herds. As the numbers of these wild dogs dwindle, they become more mysterious, elusive and enigmatic, reappearing suddenly in places they have not inhabited for months and then vanishing again a few days later. Even though protected in parks and reserves, wild dog populations have declined to the point that packs may no longer be viable. In some areas they are close to extinction.

Did you know?

• No two wild dogs are marked exactly the same, making it easy to identify different individuals. Why such a pattern should develop, and how it serves the hunting dog, has long intrigued scientists.
• Wild dogs are usually on the move over a very large range, covering for example, some 900 square miles in the Serengeti. After a litter is born, however, they will limit their travelling and hunting to areas closer to the den.

Cheetah

 Status - 

IUCN status of sub-Saharan cheetah: Vulnerable.  IUCN status of North African cheetah: Critically Endangered. Listed on United States Endangered Species Act. Listed on CITES Appendix I.

Description -

The cheetah has a slender, long-legged body with blunt, semi-retractable claws. Its coat is tan with about 2,000 small, round, black spots, and the fur is coarse and short. The cheetah has a small head with high-set eyes. Black "tear marks", which run from the corner of its eyes down the sides of the nose to its mouth, keep the sun out of its eyes and aid in hunting.

Size -

Adult body length 112-135cm; tail length 65-90cm; shoulder height 70-90cm; weight 35-60kg; male avg. 45-55kg, female avg. 35-40kg.

Specialisations -

The cheetah’s small streamlined head; long, light limbs; powerful hind legs; flexible shoulders and spine; long muscular tail; semi-retractable claws; enlarged liver and heart; and wide nostrils and increased lung capacity all combine to make it the fastest mammalian sprinter on earth. Covering up to 9 meters in a stride at almost 4 strides per second, the cheetah can reach a speed of 110km/h or more.  For more than half of every stride, the cheetah is airborne

Distribution -

Once found throughout Africa, the Middle East and central Asia, the species is now only found in various countries in Africa, with a small population left in Iran.

Habitat -

Cheetahs can be found in open plains, woodland, savannah, highlands up to 2,000 m, and arid regions extending to desert fringes.  Habitat is determined more by abundance of prey and lack of other big predators, but a balance of cover and visibility is important.

Territory -

Females are not territorial but roam over home ranges that can vary from 50 sq km to over 3,000 sq km on Namibian farmlands.  Males establish and defend small territories that overlap with ranges of many females.  In Namibia male home ranges average 2,000 sq km but territories they defend are much smaller. Territories are often located where concentrations of game and adequate cover attract large numbers of females.  Males warn intruders to stay away from their territories by scent-marking but sometimes fights occur, resulting in serious injury or death.

Behaviour  -

The cheetah’s social system of solitary females and social males is unique among cats. Females raise cubs on their own, teaching them survival skills:  how to hunt wild prey and avoid other predators, such as lions, leopards and hyenas.  At around 18 months, the mother leaves the cubs, who then form a sibling group, which can stay together for up to 6 months. By 2 years, the female siblings have left the group to establish their own home ranges, but male siblings often remain together for life. Coalitions of 2 to 5 brothers, and sometimes unrelated males, are formed to better acquire and defend territories.

Cheetahs use places of elevation—rocks, termite mounds and play trees (sloping trees with large horizontal limbs) as observation points and scent posts.  A variety of vocalizations include chirping like a bird, churring or stutter-calling, moaning in distress and growling, snarling and hissing in anger or fright.  Cheetahs purr just like a domestic cat when content.

Some Interesting Facts About Vultures

• A group of 50 vultures can reduce the carcass of a sheep or impala to skin and bones in 20 minutes.
• Vultures feed on carrion (dead carcasses) and do not kill their own prey.  Their feet are weak and better suited to walking on the ground than to picking up prey.
• Vultures are actually very hygienic birds and large groups often gather around favorite water holes to bathe, preen and drink.

What are the Largest of the World’s 22 Vulture Species

• Cape Griffon Vulture: Mass 9.29kg, wingspan 2.57m
• Lappet Faced Vulture: Mass 6.60kg, wingspan 2.64m
• Californian Condor: Mass 10.10kg, wingspan 2.79m
• Andean Condor: Mass 11.70kg, wingspan 2.99m

The Cape Griffon Vulture

• Has the smallest distribution of any Old World vulture – southernmost 12 percent of Africa.
• Longevity is unknown but is estimated to be 50-70 years.
• Only 20 percent of immature birds may survive until adulthood.
• Age at first breeding is between 6 and 8 years. 
• Breeding success is estimated at 60 percent.
• Both adults incubate what is usually one egg. The egg takes 53-57 days to hatch.
• Nestlings take 140 days to fledge. 

This week Eco Shout will focus on 5 different endangered animal species in SA

South Africa boasts in incredible wildlife heritage, there is no doubting this. But something else that has become very clear recently is that some of our beloved species are in great danger. The plummeting rhino figures are a rather worrisome example of this.
But unfortunately, it’s not only the rhino that faces certain human-induced threats in the wild. The IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) has created a Red List on which they publish a magnitude of species around the world, specifying their level of endangerment and the reasons for this.

Cape vulture

IUCN Red List status: Vulnerable

We easily underestimate the importance of vultures, perhaps because the term in itself has quite a negative connotation. But the essence of being a vulture is to clean up, and therefore, do good. By eating off carcasses they avoid diseases from spreading amongst the animal kingdom. Cape vultures are only found in southern Africa, limiting the already decreasing population.

Major threats
Loss of habitat, electrocution on pylons or collision with cables and unintentional poisoning.

Current conservation efforts
VulPro is one of the leading Cape vulture conservation organisations in the country. They aim not only to conserve and protect Cape vultures, but also to raise awareness around them. They launched a breeding and rehabilitation project fairly recently and the first captive bred vulture chick hatched on 1 September last year in the Johannesburg Zoo.

How you can help

You can acquire a My Planet card for free and make VulPro your beneficiary. Every time you swipe the card at participating stores, a certain percentage of your purchase goes to VulPro.
VulPro has a whishlist of simple items needed for smooth operations. If you’re able to donate any of these, it’ll be greatly appreciated.
Volunteer at the VulPro centre, just outside of Hartebeespoort.
Donate money to VulPro or the Endangered Wildlife Trust’s Birds of Prey programme.

The Southern Right Whale

The Southern Right Whale - http://www.hermanus.co.za/whales.asp 

These stately creatures are extremely intelligent, graceful and majestic. For eons they have travelled the seas singing their whale songs and danced to the beat of the waves. Mothers form close relationships with their young, who start suckling from birth until about one year of age. As mammals, they are born with a fine sprinkling of hair which through the years mostly disappear.
Whaling started in Norway, some 5000 years ago, with the Southern Right Whales making easy targets by ruthless hunters. These beautiful animals are slow swimmers and float when killed, thus making them the “Right Whale” to hunt. Even though commercial whaling has been banned for more than 20 years, people continue to fire harpoons into these gentle creatures, causing many species to be endangered. The Southern Right Whale is conservation dependent with about 3000 in the sea to date.

COMMUNICATION
Whales, like dolphins communicate by means of sonar. They make clicking, grunting and whistling sounds which also act as a means of echolocation. These can be heard for miles under water, and can also be heard from above water. Whales are also thought to communicate by slamming their tails against the surface of the ocean which produces a loud splashing sound, an action called lobtailing. When whales breach, they are also thought to be communicating with other whales.
SIZE
When a calf is born, it is between 5 and 6 meters long. By adulthood (approximately 10 years) the males are on average 15.2 m and the females 16.5 m.
HABITAT


Range Map of Southern Right Whale

The southern right whale has a circumpolar distribution and inhabits sub antarctic water between about 30° and 55° south. The whales migrate south during the summer months when supplies of krill are more prolific, and north during winter and spring to mate, calve and rear their young. They appear around the South African coastline from May to December. They can be seen interacting in the sheltered bays and coves close inshore and near river mouths.
LIFESPAN
The lifespan of the Southern Right whale is estimated to be 90 - 100 years.
REPRODUCTION
The gestation period is about 12 months and the calf is born tail first. The newborn is helped to the surface of the ocean by its mother to take its first breath, and after thirty minutes has learned to swim. The calf and mother spend the first year together, with the baby living off its mother's milk. Whales breed in warmer waters and females usually have one calf every 1-3 years.
DIET

The Southern Right Whales are filter feeders and get their food through the water which is filtered through the baleen in their mouths. Plankton and other tiny crustaceans are constantly being ingested. On occasion they are also bottom feeders, eating benthic prey from the mud on the ocean floor.
Baleen: A series of stiff, flexible material that hang from the upper jaw. The inside of the baleen is edged with hairy plates that filter krill. Baleen is made of keratin (the same substance our fingernails are made of) and can be up to 3 meters in length. It is also called whalebone.

SWIMMING AND OTHER WATER ACTIVITIES
Unlike fish, whales swim by moving their tails up and down.
Breaching
When a whale leaps out of the water, sometimes twirling around, it is called breaching. This action may be done purely for play, or may be used to loosen skin parasites and other irritations the whale might have. Breaching is also believed to be a means of communication with other whales and is usually done in sets of between four and six.
Fluking
Fluking is when a whale raises its tail out of the water as it begins a dive.
Lobtailing
This is an activity in which the animal sticks its tail out of the water, swings it around and then slaps it onto the water's surface. This produces a loud sound which is believed to be a means of communication between whales.
Logging
This is when the whale is merely lying in the water, with its tail hanging down. Part of the head and back are exposed.
Spouting / Blowing
When whales blow water out of the blowholes located near the top of the head it is known as spouting. Southern Right Whales have two blowholes which act as nostrils. When they blow water out of their blowholes a distinctive V-shaped cloud of vapour is produced largely by condensation when warm breath comes into contact with cooler air.

Spyhopping
An activity in which the whale pokes its head out of the water, possibly to take a look around.

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WHALE WATCHING TIPS


* You can spot whales by looking for white patches in the ocean where the waves break on their bodies. When they breach they also cause a huge white splash.
* Whales are along our coastline during the months of May to December, so make sure that you come to see them at the right time of year!
* Be patient – Seeing your first whale is an experience you will never forget.
* Whales can be seen from land, but there are also many boat-based tours available. If you get seasick, take medication or get a patch – it helps!

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INTERESTING WHALE FACTS


Beluga whales don't chew their food. They swallow it whole.
In zoos, Beluga whales eat about 2.5% to 3% of their body weight per day.Male Beluga whales weigh about 3,307 pounds and females about 2,998 pounds. They reach their full size at about 10 years old.
The head of the Southern Right is large and covered with wart-like bumps called callosities. These differ in size and position and are often used to identify individuals.
Orcas have good eyesight both underwater and above the surface.
A thick layer of fat, or blubber, helps an orca stay warm even in icy waters.
The largest male orca ever recorded was 32 feet (10 meters) long. It weighed 22,000 pounds (10,000 kilograms).
Male orcas average 19 to 22 feet (6 to 7 meters) in length; females average 16 to 19 feet (5 to 6 meters) long.
Male orcas weigh, on average, 8,000 to 12,000 pounds (3,600 to 5,500 kilograms).
Killer whales are nicknamed “wolves of the sea” as they hunt in packs.
The humpback whale has the longest flippers of any mammal, up to one third of the body length.

 

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