Picture obtained of rare Indonesian rabbit
Wildlife Conservation Society researchers in Asia have captured the image of one of the world's rarest rabbits -- the Sumatran striped rabbit.
Obtained by use of a camera trap in the Bukit Barisan National Park in Indonesia, the photo of the rabbit species are only the third recorded.
Before photos of the animal in 1998 and 2000, the last confirmed sighting by scientists of a living animal occurred during 1972 and only 15 specimens exist in museums, all dating from before 1929.
The Sumatran striped rabbit is listed as "critically endangered" by the World Conservation Union.
"This rabbit is so poorly known that any proof of its continued existence at all is great news and confirms the conservation importance of Sumatra's forests," said Colin Poole, director of the Wildlife Conservation Society's Asia program.
Copyright 2007 by United Press International
