STATUS, DISTRIBUTION AND CONSERVATION ISSUES OF HISPID HARE CAPROLAGUS HISPIDUS IN NORTH BANK LANDSCAPE, NORTH-EAST INDIA

摘要

Hispid hare (Caprolagus hispidus) is an endangered lagomorph (IUCN, 2010) which is listed in Schedule-I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. It is also one of the only two lagomorph species which is listed by CITES, the United States Endangered Species Act and the IUCN Red List. Habitat destruction due to overgrazing, unsustainable thatch grass cutting, annual dry season burning (Maheswaran, 2002), succession of grasslands into woodlands, invasion of weeds and local traditional hunting (per.obs.) are the threats which jeopardize the future of Hispid hare. Further, lack of baseline information has created a large gap in conservation activities and status evaluation of this highly precarious species. Except for few occasional capture reports during the 1970s and 1980s (Chapman and Flux, 1990), no information is available about Hispid hare in north-eastern India and no effort was made to study the species in the past. The present study was the first ever attempt to carry out a status survey of Hispid hare in the North Bank Landscape, north-east India during the year 2008-09 (October-March).