The rare animals are endemic to the Karoo and have specialized in a very specific habitat which is as expected very limited in a desert region: the discontinuous riparian vegetation and the seasonally flooded marginal zones along the rivers.
With the help of camera traps and in cooperation with the landowners an inventory was carried out which required detailed information from the local farmers. Over time four protection zones (so-called Riverine Rabbit Conservancies) were established which cover around 360,000 hectares of farmland where riverine rabbit live.
The education of the population has also raised awareness of the uniqueness and the threat to the riverine rabbit and continues to be a key element of the conservation measures.
there is a new employee in the project team: Jessie. The bitch was specially trained to sniff out bushman rabbits. It can show whether bushman rabbits are present in an area or not. This allows the project team to take appropriate conservation measures.
