Caprolagus hispidus
Creators: name: Don E. Wilson
name: Thomas E. Lacher, Jr
name: Russell A. Mittermeier
Publisher: name: Lynx Edicions
Year: 2016
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Lagomorpha
Leporidae
Caprolagus
Caprolagus hispidus

description: 29.
Hispid Hare
Caprolagus hispidus
French: Lapin dAssam / German: Borstenkaninchen / Spanish: Liebre hispida
Other common names: Assam Rabbit
Taxonomy. Lepus hispidus J.T. Pearson, 1839,
“Assam, base of the Boutan [= Bhutan] mountains,” India.
Caprolagus hispidus is sympatric with Lepus nigricollis.
Monotypic.
Distribution. S Himalaya foothills, N India (Uttar Pradesh, Bihar), S Nepal, NE India (N West Bengal and Assam), and S through NW Bangladesh; recently recorded in S Bhutan (Royal Manas National Park).
Descriptive notes. Head-body c.480 mm, tail c.53 mm, ear c.70 mm, hindfoot c¢.98 mm; weight 1.8-3.2 kg. The Hispid Hare has coarse bristly fur. Dorsal pelage is dark brown, a mixture of black and brown hairs. Ventral fur is brown on chest and whitish on abdomen. Tail is short and brown throughout but paler below. The Hispid Hare has straight and strong claws.
Habitat. Early successional riverine communities, typically comprising dense tall grasslands, commonly referred to as elephant grass or thatchland such as Saccharum, Imperata, Themeda, Narenga, Arundo, or Phragmites (all Poaceae), at elevations of 100-250 m. These grasslands originate in the succession between primary colonizing grasses through deciduousriverine forest to the sal (Shorea robusta, Dipterocarpaceae) forest climax. Tall grassland habitats might also have an understory during later stages of succession. Maintenance of tall grassland habitat is caused by prolonged inundation during the monsoon or by periodic burning in relatively undisturbed areas, or by regular burning, grazing, or regular harvesting in disturbed areas. Tall grassland habitat has different plant species, dominating in different situations. Main types of grassland are composed of Themeda villosa, Saccharum-Narenga associations, Arundo-Phragmates associations, Imperata cylindrica, and Cymbopogon spp. (all Poaceae) and Alpinia allughas (Zingiberaceae), Typha elephantine (Typhaceae), and Leea crispa (Vitaceae). The Hispid Hare inhabits all of these and other plant communities of varying importance at different times of the year according to availability of cover. During the dry season when most of these communities are subject to extensive regular burning, the Hispid Hare is deprived of cover and all other resources until regrowth of vegetation following onset of early rains a few weeks or even up to 2-3 months later. During this period, the Hispid Hare is entirely dependent on any unburned cover such as marshy sward dominated by Phragmites, Arundo spp., and Saccharum spontaneum (all Poaceae) along riverbanks that are maintained by later prolonged inundation and are therefore left unburned. It has been suggested that carrying capacities of Hispid Hares are determined by sizes of small patches of tall grassland that escape annual dry-season burning. Enforced confinement within these isolated patches of post-burn cover might increase susceptibility of Hispid Hares to predation.
Food and Feeding. Based on fecal analysis, Hispid Hares in Nepal ate 19-23 plant species, with S. spontaneum, I. cylindrica, Desmostachya bipinnata, and Cynodon dactylon (all Poaceae) having the highest frequency of occurrence in feces. Composition of plant species in the diet was proportional to availabilities. A significantly higher diversity of plants was recorded in the diet of Hispid Hares after the fire. Another study reported that Hispid Hares ate inner parts of stems of Narenga porphyrocoma, leaves of Cymbopogon sp., I. cylindrical, and inner cores of S. spontaneum.
Breeding. Based on a three-month study in western Nepal, Hispid Hares bred in January/February during the post-burn period in a belt of floodplain habitat dominated by marshes, swamps, oxbow lakes, and tall dense grasslands, intermixed with riverine forest. Uniformly small size of scrotal testes in males suggests a monogamous mating system. A single fetus found in a pregnant female during the study in western Nepal, a single young born in captivity, and four nipples on captured females suggest that Hispid Hares have small litter sizes. It is unknown if young Hispid Hares are altricial or precocial, but they might be intermediate as are young Volcano Rabbits (Romerolagus diaz), which live in a similar habitat. Nests of Hispid Hares were made with leaves of Narenga (Poaceae), laid outcircular shapes.
Activity patterns. The Hispid Hare is crepuscular.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. Short-limbed Hispid Hares have small home ranges of 0-82 ha for males and 0-28 ha for females. Overlapping home ranges suggest they live in pairs, although home ranges of males were larger than those of females.
Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix I. Classified as Endangered on The [UCN Red List. The Hispid Hare receives maximum protection in India under Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 and in Nepal under Schedule I of the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Measures Act of 1973. It has been nationally listed as endangered in India and critically endangered in Nepal. Almost no information is available about population status of the Hispid Hare, but there is no doubtthat it has declined substantially due to loss oftall grassland habitat. It has been estimated that a population decline of 20-50% in suitable habitat has occurred since 1994 and the decline is expected to continue at this rate. The few patches oftall grassland habitat that remain all occur in national parks, wildlife reserves, and sanctuaries scattered across the former distribution of the Hispid Hare. There have been very few records from Uttar Pradesh and Assam since 1951. Current populations exist in a few isolated patches across its former distribution. Area of occupancy is estimated at 11-500 km?. Isolated relict populations of Hispid Hares remain at risk because of continuing degradation of habitat even within these protected areas. Major threats are habitat destruction for agriculture, forestry, human settlement, flood control, and irrigation schemes. Additional threats are habitat degradation due to dry-season burning, illegal grazing, and harvesting of tall grasslands. Recommendations are to further study distribution, status, biology, and ecology of the Hispid Hare. Research on its distribution should be conducted at different times of the year because Hispid Hares change habitat according to availabilities of cover during flood and burning seasons. Control of the burning season within the distribution of the Hispid Hare is needed to ensure that suitable habitat is available throughout the year. Moreover,status surveys of tall grassland habitats should be conducted. Results of a study on investigating effects of burning and cutting of grassland dominated by I. cylindrica showed that patches of grassland could be left unmanaged for a two-year rotation without significantly altering composition of the plant community and thereby provide refugia for cover-dependent species such as the Hispid Hare. More studies, particularly long-term ones, investigating effects of disturbing factors to habitat are required to formulate appropriate long-term management plans for remnants tall grassland. Local education regarding status of the Hispid Hare is necessary, including educating staff of reserves where the Hispid Hare occurs.
Bibliography. Aryal & Yadav (2010), Aryal et al. (2012), Bell et al. (1990), Ghose (1981), Hoffmann & Smith (2005), Jordan et al. (2005a), Maheswaran (2006), Maheswaran & Smith (2008), Nidup et al. (2015), Peet et al. (1999), Tandan et al. (2013), Yadav et al. (2008).
description: Published as part of Don E. Wilson, Thomas E. Lacher, Jr & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2016, Leporidae, pp. 107-148 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 6 Lagomorphs and Rodents I, Barcelona :Lynx Edicions on page 125, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6625539