Sumatran striped rabbits are so rare that we only know of their existence through a dozen museum specimen collected in the early 20th century and the occasional snapshot from camera traps.
So imagine the surprise of animal conservationists from Fauna & Flora International (FFI) and the authorities at the Kerinci Seblat National Park in Indonesia when they got a tip that the world's rarest rabbit was for sale on Facebook!
Turns out, a Sumatran striped rabbit was captured by a local farmer who found it at the edge of the national park, next to a river that just flooded. The rabbit seemed to have injured itself, probably during the flood.
"The successful rescue of the Sumatran striped rabbit was a true team effort and is testament to the broad network of support that operates around the park – online and offline; once the farmer who caught this rabbit understood its rarity, he was happy to see it returned to the national park," said Deborah Martyr of FFI.
Image: KSNP
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An image of a Sumatran striped rabbit captured by a camera trap. Image: FFI