Rare Japanese Rabbit Leaves Endangered Species List

Japan has removed the rare, nocturnal, island-dwelling Amami black rabbit (aka the Ryukyu rabbit, Pentalagus furnessi ) from its endangered species list, according to a report from The Telegraph . The rabbits can only be found on the remote islands of Amami Oshima and Toku-no-Shima, part of the Ryukyu archipelago located about 350 kilometers south of mainland Japan and 300 kilometers north of Okinawa. They have been legally protected for nearly a century, initially as a response to overhunting. In recent decades they have suffered from habitat loss and predation by dogs , cats and invasive Indian mongooses ( Herpestes javanicus ), 30 of which were introduced to Amami island in 1979 to control venomous snake populations. (At least four poisonous snake species, collectively known as habu , live on the Ryukyu islands.) By 1999 an estimated 5,000 to 10,000 mongooses inhabited the island, massively disrupting the native fauna.The Telegraph did not mention why Japan removed the Amami rabbit from its endangered species list, which is usually a sign of population recovery. Japan's Ministry of the Environment did not return requests for comment or information. [More]