Volcano rabbit declared extinct

The IUCN last assessed it in 2008, when it was maintained as endangered but the population trend was changed to 'increasing'- if it was indeed last seen in 2003 why was this the case?
Also weren't there captive populations at Chapultepec Zoo and another facility in Mexico?
There also seems to be the single article linked to above currently reporting on this, although someone has hastily edited the wikipedia article for the species.
There's a rabbit away somewhere...
 
I really hope this article is wrong. Does anybody know if the volcano rabbits in captivity are still alive?
 
Reading the article, it looks like it is saying the taxon is extinct on one specific mountain within its range, Nevado de Toluca - no mention is made of the other mountains on which it has been reported.
 
Last edited:
Without knowing anything about the outlet running the story it's hard to say, but to me it seems more like click-bait. A more careful reading uncovers that the story never actually lies and yet the reader, without further context, could only form an incorrect opinion.
 
Agree with @FunkyGibbon that the article seems more like clickbait... The IUCN last assessed the species in 2008, but listed it as an increasing population, as @Swampy pointed out. If the last wild volcano rabbit was seen in 2003 as the article claims, I can't imagine the IUCN would have listed it like they did.
Additionally, the news article states that the rabbit was"declared extinct in the vicinity of the Nevado de Toluca." But on IUCN's species profile, that volcano is listed under historical range when it was assessed in 2008! "[Volcano rabbit has] apparently disappeared from some of its historical range in the central Transverse Neovolcanic Belt, including the eastern slopes of Iztaccihuatl and the Nevada de Toluca (Fa and Bell 1990)" So supposedly a study in 1990 found the species to have disappeared in the area they just claimed it has gone extinct in. Apparently it was gone from that volcano almost 30 years ago. The news article says nothing about the other 4 volcanos where the rabbit was known to occur in 2008, nor any captive populations.
Based on the current information, I am not convinced the volcano rabbit is extinct. Hopefully someone can provide some more information here soon.
 
You can definitely tell it is not at all accurate by the fact that Jon Hall of mammalwatching.com saw a number of wild volcano rabbits at a site called Milpa Alta in May 2018 'without making a particular effort to look for them' (direct quote from his trip report, included below); also including two photographs of the animals in question.

Trip Report: Mexico City Area and Veracruz (Rodent-fest) - Mammal Watching
 
Great Argus said:
Agree with @FunkyGibbon that the article seems more like clickbait... The IUCN last assessed the species in 2008, but listed it as an increasing population, as @Swampy pointed out. If the last wild volcano rabbit was seen in 2003 as the article claims, I can't imagine the IUCN would have listed it like they did.
Additionally, the news article states that the rabbit was"declared extinct in the vicinity of the Nevado de Toluca." But on IUCN's species profile, that volcano is listed under historical range when it was assessed in 2008! "[Volcano rabbit has] apparently disappeared from some of its historical range in the central Transverse Neovolcanic Belt, including the eastern slopes of Iztaccihuatl and the Nevada de Toluca (Fa and Bell 1990)" So supposedly a study in 1990 found the species to have disappeared in the area they just claimed it has gone extinct in. Apparently it was gone from that volcano almost 30 years ago. The news article says nothing about the other 4 volcanos where the rabbit was known to occur in 2008, nor any captive populations.
Based on the current information, I am not convinced the volcano rabbit is extinct. Hopefully someone can provide some more information here soon.
Click to expand...
The "news" report definitely is way past sell date and given that already in the last IUCN Red List assessment the species was de-listed as present / extinct on the Nevado de Toluca mountain range, it is jumping to conclusions that never have been.

See the official statement by the Mexican authorities:
QUOTE
"De acuerdo con la Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad (CONABIO) aunque varios volcanes del Eje Neovolcánico poseen hábitats potencialmente adecuados, desde hace más de 120 años de registros, la presencia del teporingo sólo se ha corroborado en:

  • En el sur de la Ciudad de México: las sierras Chichinautzin y Ajusco (en los volcanes Pelado y Tláloc).
  • En el este de la Ciudad de México: la sierra Nevada,
  • En los volcanes Popocatépetl, Iztaccíhuatl y Tláloc."
UNQOUTE

I would expect that the Mexican conservation authority might at some point even consider re-establishing the species at some sites it previously occured to enable them to de-list or downgrade the category of threat for the teporingo. For now, hunting, habitat destruction and accidental firing and lack of public awareness (of its threat category status) remain threats to its survival in the wild.

LINK: El teporingo no está extinto! Cuidémoslo | Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales | Gobierno | gob.mx

I am sure that the captive population is thriving at zoos breeding them: allthough recent research at Mexico Ciudad - Chapultepec has revealed that heterozygosity in captive population (founders: 1.4 individuals) has been lost.
 
Yes, the report was that the teporingo maybe extinct on the Nevado de Toluca but not in other localities. There are over 300 volcano rabbits at Chapultepec zoo and the other México city zoos. Still all the attetion this note has had is positive because it shows how much the general públic is interested in teporingos in México and other countries
 
carlos55 said:
Yes, the report was that the teporingo maybe extinct on the Nevado de Toluca but not in other localities. There are over 300 volcano rabbits at Chapultepec zoo and the other México city zoos. Still all the attetion this note has had is positive because it shows how much the general públic is interested in teporingos in México and other countries
Click to expand...
Surely this is putting quite a positive spin on things? Whilst it may be a good measure of public interest it seems quite a destructive method of doing so. Firstly some people will genuinely believe the rabbit is extinct; hardly a recipe for action to prevent it's demise. Secondly people may take future bad news or warnings less seriously if they do understand this was misleading. A case of 'The boy who cried volcano rabbit', if you will.
 
It also takes quite a few decades* and many thorough searches during different times of day before the IUCN will consider declaring a species extinct. As an example, the thylacine wasn't declared until 1982 and was only removed from CITES 5 years ago.

*The previous guideline was 50 years, now it's a bit more flexible, based more on the species' lifespan.
 
Zoológicos de la Ciudad de México
The Mexico city zoos after all the viral excitement have openly stated that there are 41 teporingos on public exhibit at Chapultepec, Los Coyotes and San Juan de Aragon, The off exhibit breeding groups are not mentioned at all. 10 teporingos went to Nagoya zoo in exchange for raccoon dogs, red kangaroos and penguins.Other teporingos have been sent to protected areas of Milpa Alta and Topilejo here on the mountain outskirts of Mexico City. It was a keeper who told me a few years ago that the mexico city zoos had about 300. Now the zoo authorites will only mention the 41 teporingos on exhibit. I always see juvenile teporingos on my visits to Chapultepec and Los Coyotes. Perhaps theoriginal estimate was just too optimistic.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top