Tehuantepec Hare

The Tehuantepec jackrabbit (Lepus flavigularis) (Spanish: liebre de Tehuantepec) is a medium-sized species of hare in the family Leporidae that is endemic to eastern Oaxaca, Mexico. It exists in three separated populations, living on grassy dunes and savannas, and is herbivorous, mainly eating grasses. It is not territorial. Most active at night, it will feed for most of the time and occasionally groom or socialize with other hares, spending the daytime resting on beds of grass or shrubs, or under nopales. They are polygynous and breed for most of the year, from February to December, producing one to four young per breeding season. Predators include snakes, dogs, cats, coyotes, and gray foxes.
The Tehuantepec jackrabbit is the most endangered of the hares, with less than 300 mature individuals estimated as of 2019, and is threatened by various factors in its small distribution, including poaching, habitat loss and fragmentation, a small population size, and genetic isolation. Changing agricultural practices, loss of diversity in flora, and competition for food are also factors in the species' decline. It is recognized as endangered both by the International Union for the Conservation...