That is certainly one of the purposes of zoos, that people can see the animals affected by habitat loss and overhunting and realize what is being destroyed.
Volcano rabbits are great models and so photogenic. When i bended down to take this picture at the exhibit a teporingo came over to look at me and i was ready to take this photo.
How are volcano rabbits doing in the wild? Are they making anything resembling a comeback in numbers and do they have enough habitat remaining for a viable population in the wild?
Is there much public awareness of the volcano rabbit in Mexico or is it known mostly just to people who like animals?
It is hard to give an exact estimate of the teporingo population, but the most reliable figure is about 3,500 to 4000 on the volcanos near Mexico City which are Mt. Popocateptl and Mt. Iztacihuatl, which i can see on those rare clear days from my department near the university where i work. That is how close the volcanos are. There are also some on the nevado de Toluca also nearby. The volcano rabbits range is rather limited, they are found above 2,000 meters altitude. The mexico city zoos have had a great success with the the teporingos, Chapultepec, Aragon and los Coyotes have over 300 teporingos, most off exhibit. People in mexico city who know about our wildlife care about the volcano rabbits and are proud of them, but the general public may not. The teporingo exhibits at the mexico city zoos always recieve a lot of attention because these little animals are indeed quite attractive.
