Natal red rock hare
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The Natal red rock hare or greater red rock hare (''Pronolagus crassicaudatus'') is a species of mammal in the family
Leporidae Leporidae is the family of rabbits and hares, containing over 60 species of extant mammals in all. The Latin word ''Leporidae'' means "those that resemble ''lepus''" (hare). Together with the pikas, the Leporidae constitute the mammalian order ...
(rabbits and hares). It has a slightly grizzled, grayish brown head and reddish brown
upperparts Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position prov ...
. The dense fur is thick and rougher than other rock hares. It is
endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...
to
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
, and found in southeastern provinces of South Africa ( Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga, and
KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...
), eastern Lesotho, Eswatini (
Highveld The Highveld (Afrikaans: ''Hoëveld'', where ''veld'' means "field") is the portion of the South African inland plateau which has an altitude above roughly 1500 m, but below 2100 m, thus excluding the Lesotho mountain regions to the south-east of ...
and Lumbobo), and southern Mozambique (
Maputo Province Maputo Province is a province of Mozambique; the province excludes the city of Maputo (which comprises a separate province). The province has an area of and a population of 1,968,906 (2017 census). Its capital is the city of Matola. Geography ...
). It is a 
herbivore A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthpart ...
, primarily feeding on grass. It breeds throughout the year, and one or two pups are usually born in the summer. It is rated as a species of 
least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...
 on the 
IUCN Red List of Endangered Species The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biolog ...
.


Taxonomy

French
zoologist Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...
Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire (16 December 1805 – 10 November 1861) was a French zoologist and an authority on deviation from normal structure. In 1854 he coined the term ''éthologie'' (ethology). Biography He was born in Paris, the son ...
first described the Natal red rock hare in 1832 and classified it in the genus ''
Lepus Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores, and live solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are able to fend for themselves shortly after birth. The gen ...
'', giving it the name ''Lepus crassicaudatus''. American
mammalogist In zoology, mammalogy is the study of mammals – a class of vertebrates with characteristics such as homeothermic metabolism, fur, four-chambered hearts, and complex nervous system In biology, the nervous system is the highly complex part o ...
Marcus Ward Lyon Jr. Marcus Ward Lyon Jr. (February 5, 1875 – May 19, 1942) was an American mammalogist, bacteriologist, and pathologist. He was born into a military family, and demonstrated an early interest in zoology by collecting local wildlife around his fat ...
later placed the Natal red rock hare in the genus ''Pronolagus'' in 1906, and it was given the name ''Pronolagus'' ''crassicaudatus''. It was previously considered a subspecies of the Jameson's red rock hare ('' P. randensis''). In the third edition of ''
Mammal Species of the World ''Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference'' is a standard reference work in mammalogy giving descriptions and bibliographic data for the known species of mammals. It is now in its third edition, published in late 2005, ...
'' published in 2005, R. S. Hoffman and A. T. Smith listed the Natal red rock hare (''Pronolagus crassicaudatus'') as a separate species and included its four taxonomic synonyms: ''P. c. kariegae'' (Hewitt, 1927); ''P. c. lebombo'' (Roberts, 1936); ''P. c. lebomboensis'' (Roberts, 1936); and ''P. c. ruddi'' (Thomas and Schwann, 1905). They described the taxonomic relationship between the Natal red rock hare and Jameson's red rock hare (''P. randensis'') as unclear.


Description

The Natal red rock hare is a large rabbit, measuring in length, having a long, bright reddish brown
tail The tail is the section at the rear end of certain kinds of animals’ bodies; in general, the term refers to a distinct, flexible appendage to the torso. It is the part of the body that corresponds roughly to the sacrum and coccyx in mammals, r ...
lighter in tone than other members of the genus, and weighing . It has a slightly grizzled, grayish brown head with gray or grayish white lower cheeks and chin, and a grayish white band running laterally along the jaw edge up to the
nuchal The nape is the back of the neck. In technical anatomical/medical terminology, the nape is also called the nucha (from the Medieval Latin rendering of the Arabic , "spinal marrow"). The corresponding adjective is ''nuchal'', as in the term ''nu ...
 patch. It has grizzled, brown dorsal
pelage Fur is a thick growth of hair that covers the skin of mammals. It consists of a combination of oily #Guard hair, guard hair on top and thick #Down hair, underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as ...
flecked with black, and pale reddish brown ventral pelage with non-uniform white patches and streaks. The flanks are paler than the dorsal fur and have fewer hairs, which feature black tips. The 
upperparts Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position prov ...
 and gular collar are reddish brown in color, in contrast with the color of the chest and throat. The
underparts Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position prov ...
are grayish, grizzled with
rufous Rufous () is a color that may be described as reddish-brown or brownish-red, as of rust or oxidised iron. The first recorded use of ''rufous'' as a color name in English was in 1782. However, the color is also recorded earlier in 1527 as a dia ...
fur. The ears are short, measuring in length, sparsely furred, and are gray on the inner surface and whitish gray on the outer surface. The nuchal patch is brown to gray in color, and the rump is bright reddish brown. It has gray 
underfur Fur is a thick growth of hair that covers the skin of mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an insulating blanket t ...
. The feet pads are reddish brown, and the forelimbs and hindlimbs are a dull reddish brown. The dense fur is thick and rougher than other rock hares. The flesh is reported to have an odor comparable to urine. It is similar to the Hewitt's red rock hare ( ''P. saunderside''), which is shorter, has shorter ears, and a longer tail.


Distribution and habitat

The Natal red rock hare is
endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...
to southern
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
; it is present in southeastern provinces of South Africa ( Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga, and
KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...
), eastern Lesotho, Eswatini (
Highveld The Highveld (Afrikaans: ''Hoëveld'', where ''veld'' means "field") is the portion of the South African inland plateau which has an altitude above roughly 1500 m, but below 2100 m, thus excluding the Lesotho mountain regions to the south-east of ...
and Lumbobo), and southern Mozambique (
Maputo Province Maputo Province is a province of Mozambique; the province excludes the city of Maputo (which comprises a separate province). The province has an area of and a population of 1,968,906 (2017 census). Its capital is the city of Matola. Geography ...
). It lives in steep, rocky terrain like cliffs, hillsides with scattered rocks and boulders, stone outcrops, and rocky gorges with edible grass. It takes refuge in tussock grasses or low, dense vegetation. It is found at heights of up to above sea level.


Behavior and ecology

The Natal red rock hare lives in small colonies consisting of a few hares. It is a
nocturnal Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...
species, and hides in creeks or under rocks, boulders, or dense grass during the day. It is a
herbivore A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthpart ...
, and feeds on grass, especially young grass, weeds, and herbs. As it obtains moisture from dew and from food, it is independent of water, but it drinks any available water. It travels to higher elevations at night to forage on grasses. It has a good, 360 degree vision, sense of smell, and hearing. On erecting its ears, a network of veins on the inner surface radiate heat to reduce the body temperature. The breeding period continues throughout the year. The nest is lined with plant material and female fur. After a gestation period of one month one or two pups weighing are usually born in the summer. It produces grunting calls while contacting with other members of the species, and produces shrill screams and cries when alarmed. It is known to fight through bites and kicks with the hindfeet when caught. It can live up to an age of five years. Its predators include all larger
carnivore A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose food and energy requirements derive from animal tissues (mainly muscle, fat and other sof ...
s such as
leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, a ...
s,
caracal The caracal (''Caracal caracal'') () is a medium-sized wild cat native to Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and arid areas of Pakistan and northwestern India. It is characterised by a robust build, long legs, a short face, long tufted e ...
s,
African wildcat The African wildcat (''Felis lybica'') is a small wildcat species native to Africa, West and Central Asia up to Rajasthan in India and Xinjiang in China. It has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List in 2022. In Cyprus, an African wil ...
s,
snake Snakes are elongated, Limbless vertebrate, limbless, carnivore, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other Squamata, squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping Scale (zoology), scales. Ma ...
s, and
birds of prey Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and other smaller birds). In addition to speed and strength, these predators ...
.


Status and conservation

Since 1996, the Natal red rock hare has been rated as a species of 
least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...
 on the 
IUCN Red List of Endangered Species The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biolog ...
. This is because it is widespread, having a large range—more than —and although its range and population are decreasing, the number of mature individuals in the wild is above 10,000. It is abundant within its range in provincial parks, national parks, and wildlife refugees, and is also protected by Provincial Nature Conservation agencies seasonally, as a game species. Human activities such as encroachment of settlements, agriculture, and hunting in rural areas poses a threat to the Natal red rock hare, due to which its population is decreasing. Since the 1900s, more than 21% to 50% of its habitat has been destroyed, which is predicted to remain between 21% and 50% till 2022, decreasing its population by 20% or more by then.


References

{{Good article Pronolagus Mammals described in 1832 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot