Pygmy Rabbits Population Not Improving, Remain Endangered

Pygmy rabbits will continue to be classified as an endangered species in Washington, based on a report to the state Fish and Wildlife Commission that they face ongoing risks to their long-term survival in central Washington's sagebrush habitat.

The commission, a citizen panel appointed by the governor to set policy for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), maintained the pygmy rabbit's current status under state law when it met June 14-16 in Olympia. The commission will decide the classification of two other species – sea otters and Columbian sharp-tailed grouse – later this summer.

Hannah Anderson, WDFW wildlife recovery specialist, said the state's wild pygmy rabbit population – estimated at 250 animals – primarily inhabits two "recovery emphasis areas" at Sagebrush Flats and Beezley Hills in Douglas County. Their numbers are well short of WDFW's goal of a five-year average population of at least 1,400 rabbits in six separate populations for "downlisting" to threatened status.

Anderson said the rabbits, which are also classified as endangered under federal law, face several threats to their survival, including the loss and fragmentation of their sagebrush habitat, wildfires, and the relatively small size of the population.

The department's main recovery strategy is to reintroduce the animals in areas where they lived before their numbers were depleted. She said WDFW began breeding the rabbits in captivity in 2002 and in semi-wild breeding enclosures about 10 years later. Since 2011, WDFW has released nearly 2,000 rabbits into the wild.