"WHAT IS A TEHUANTEPE JACKRABBIT???"
 |
| a beautiful picture of a jackrabbit. https://pixnio.com/fauna-animals/bunny- rabbit/black-tailed-jackrabbit-lepus-californicus |
The Tehuantepe Jackrabbit, since the 30th of June 2008, is
known to be 'endangered'. It is found in the desert, mainly the grasslands,
shrub land and suratidal areas. Their main food source, because they are
herbavores, are grasses, twigs, bark, leaves, prickly cacti, and shrubs. They
themselves are known to be natures' ideal prey. Coyotes, mountain lions, foxes,
owls, and snakes will all eat them. When speaking about their life cycle, they
are in the middle of the desert food chain.I do not know much about the birth
rate, other than the fact that they reproduce very frequently, and when they do
reproduce, they produce a lot at a time. I am guessing that with their position
in the food chain, they have short lives. When researching this topic after
brainstorming these thoughts, I found out that the average lifespan of a
jackrabbit is 6 years. Overall, jackrabbits are known to have short lives, they
are the main food source for many animals in the desert, they reproduce to a
great extent, and they are herbavores. I found all of this information on
"The Red List", a website that describes endangered species, and was
surprised to find out that the jackrabbit is currently endangered.
This is a picture of the overall desert food chain, featuring
the jackrabbit. https://www.birmingham.k12.mi.us/Page/6192
 |
| This is a picture of the overall desert food chain, featuring the jackrabbit. https://www.birmingham.k12.mi.us/Page/6192 |
"WHAT THREATENS THEIR
SURVIVAL???"
Their usual habitat is marine coastal,
supratidal, shrub land, savanna, and grassland. All of these habitats are
threatened by various variables. One threat is known to be residential and
commercial development. Both housing, and urban areas are what contribute to
this threat of building. Another threat is surprisingly agriculture and
aquaculture. Annual and perennial non-timber crops contribute to this threat of
agriculture, as well as livestock farming and ranching. In addition to
agriculture being a threat, transportation and service corridors such as roads
and railroads are a threat as well. The obvious threat, being biological
resource use, also known as hunting and trapping is a huge threat to the
jackrabbit. Other recreational activities serve as a threat as well. Natural
system modifications, invasive and other problematic species, genes and
diseases are also a major threat to the jackrabbit. Lastly, the biggest threat
to all species being climate change is also a threat to the jackrabbit.
Droughts, storms, and flooding affect this species greatly. Without the
jackrabbit population, the grasslands would not be the same.
 |
| This is a picture of where the jackrabbit population is found most. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ File:Black-tailed_Jackrabbit_area.png |
"WHERE DO THEY LIVE???"
In present time, according to The Red
List, the jackrabbit is limited in places to call home. They are mainly
restricted to grasslands, with open shrub and tree cover, and coastal grassy
dunes which exceed a 4-5 km wide strip along the shores of salt water lagoons
on the north side of the Gulf of Tehuantepec. Grasses in the
savannas and coastal dunes are usually filled with Paspalum An and Bouteloua
A close up of Paspalum
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Paspalum_
mandiocanum_spikelets4_(7185861933).jpg
A far away picture of a desert grasslandhttps://pixabay.com/photos/volcano-desert-
volcano-in-desert-3633728/
In general, many people do not know that grasslands can lie
in deserts. There are many threats to the grasslands, including farmland,
overgrazing, hunting, invasive species, illegal hunting, and climate change.
There are two types ofgrasslands, tropical and temperate. tropical grasslands
include the hot savannas of sub-Saharian Africa, and northern Australia.
According to National Geographic, Grasslands only
account for 20-40 percent of the worlds land area. They are
generally open and flat, and they exist on every continent EXCEPT Antarctica.
Rainfall can vary depending on where the grasslands are in the desert areas.
The desert grasslands support a lot of different species. The vegetation in the
grasslands, for example, supply the needs of several animals for food. These
animals include zebras, wildebeest, giraffes, and gazelles. On temperate
grasslands, you will find praire dogs, badgers, coyotes, swift foxes, and a
variety of birds! There is up to 25 different kinds of vegetation in these
grasslands as well. There are certain natural causations that help shape
grasslands positively, such as fires. Both nature-caused and human-caused fires
helps maintain these grasslands for games such as bison.
In general, many people do not know that grasslands can lie
in deserts. There are many threats to the grasslands, including farmland,
overgrazing, hunting, invasive species, illegal hunting, and climate change.
There are two types ofgrasslands, tropical and temperate. tropical grasslands
include the hot savannas of sub-Saharian Africa, and northern Australia.
According to National Geographic, Grasslands only
account for 20-40 percent of the worlds land area. They are
generally open and flat, and they exist on every continent EXCEPT Antarctica.
Rainfall can vary depending on where the grasslands are in the desert areas.
The desert grasslands support a lot of different species. The vegetation in the
grasslands, for example, supply the needs of several animals for food. These
animals include zebras, wildebeest, giraffes, and gazelles. On temperate
grasslands, you will find praire dogs, badgers, coyotes, swift foxes, and a
variety of birds! There is up to 25 different kinds of vegetation in these
grasslands as well. There are certain natural causations that help shape
grasslands positively, such as fires. Both nature-caused and human-caused fires
helps maintain these grasslands for games such as bison.
|
 |
| A beautiful desert grassland. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pano_of_Gunbarrel_grasslands_and_ dune_in_the_Gibson_Desert_Nature_Reserve._(6937186643).jpg |
In Keene, New
Hampshire, there are a lot of developments and buildings, especially with there
being a college amongst the trees takes a lot of species' land and homes away.
When doing that, we all need to understand that when taking these homes away,
we need to do our best to preserve what is still remaining. The
Tehuantepec jackrabbit is listed as critically endangered in the Mexican
Official Norm NOM-059-ECOL-2001. Conservation laws are not enforced by local
authorities in Oaxaca, Mexico, according to The Red List. When
looking back at the section of the jackrabbits' threats, I focused on the main
threat of residential areas. Keene is a big residential area, so when thinking
of ways to preserve the land of all endangered species in residential areas, I
try to think of the saying "Leave No Trace" (https://lnt.org/). Leave No Trace
is a set of outdoor ethics promoting conservation in the outdoors. It consists
of seven principles: plan ahead and prepare, travel and camp on durable surfaces,
dispose of waste properly, leave what you find, minimize campfire impacts,
respect wildlife, be considerate of other visitors. SO, since Keene is although
a residential area, you have to think about the areas that are not full of
college students. The mountains, the woods, places like that. Try to keep your
plastic and trash to yourself, and even try to pick others trash up if you see
it. There is only one planet, so try to preserve what we still have!
 |
| Leave No Trace seven principles! https://lnt.org/shop/featured-products |
________________________________________________________________________________
(ALL OF THIS INFORMATION WAS FOUND ON https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/11790/3306162#habitat-ecology, and https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/habitats/grasslands/)
“Home | Leave No Trace.” Home | Leave No Trace, lnt.org/.
Nunez, Christina. “Grasslands Information and Facts.” Grasslands-Facts and Information, 15 Mar. 2019, www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/habitats/grasslands/.
Comments