Riparian brush rabbit

Meet One of California’s Rarest Mammals, the Riparian Brush Rabbit, With Priceless USFWS Art

With a pitch-perfect set of panels, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Cal Robinson introduces us all to the endangered, exceptionally rare riparian brush rabbit.

Any day spent learning about a new species is a great day, right? Surely you feel the same, or why else would you be here? Today’s focus isn’t “new” in the literal sense of the word, however. It’s simply new to this Tennessee native. And that has everything to do with the fact that these little brush rabbits have only three known habitats in all of California.

As USFWS proudly exclaims, “Meet one of California’s rarest mammals, the endangered riparian brush rabbit! These small rabbits, measuring 12 inches in length and weighing 1.5 pounds, live in the green wet habitat along the river at the San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge.”

The refuge, operated by USFWS, is also home to the desert cottontail species, so Robinson’s artwork goes the extra mile by comparing the two. “Here are some helpful identification tips if you end up visiting or find yourself in Central California,” their post captions his panels:

Tips to Identify a Riparian Brush Rabbit from a Desert Cottontail

“So you think you saw a riparian brush rabbit…” Robinson’s art begins. “If you’re in the rabbit’s range in central California, you might have!”

If the rabbit in question has a “fluffy white tail,” however, “It was probably a desert cottontail,” Robinson cites. “Riparian brush rabbits have small tails that are hard to see.”

What about tall, black-tipped ears? That would be a cottontail again, he notes. Brush rabbits have smaller brown ears with no black tips.

But if you see a “bunny with pinchable cheeks* and a general aura of adorable??” – Now that’s a riparian, Robinson decrees with his most emotive art. Though please, as he cites for USFWS, *never pinch the cheeks of any wildlife.

But What Is It, Though?

The riparian brush rabbit (Sylvilagus bachmani riparius) is a subspecies of the common brush rabbit. That species is found in Oregon, California and Baja California, Mexico, USFWS cites.

The riparian, however, is only found in Caswell Memorial State Park, Lathrop, CA, and San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge (since their reintroduction to the latter).

The species has been listed as endangered since 2000, and the biggest current threat to these rabbits is a fatal virus, one that infects rabbit species across the western U.S. For this reason, USFWS is working with wildlife partners to vaccinate wild rabbits.

Seasonal flooding of habitat, development and/or land use change, wildfire, drought and predation also threaten the species.

“In other news, this year’s wet winter flooding has been chasing the riparian brush rabbits to islands of high ground where they can be vulnerable to birds of prey and run out of food waiting for the water levels to drop,” USFWS cites in kind.

“We want to give a big shout out to our San Luis National Wildlife Refuge Complex team who have rescued and relocated over 100 rabbits. These efforts continue to be ongoing,” the service concludes.

Good on you, USFWS, and long live the riparian brush rabbit!