Riverine rabbit
Bunolagus monticularis (Thomas, 1903)
CRCritically Endangeredmammals
The riverine rabbit (Bunolagus monticularis) is a species in the family Leporidae, order Lagomorpha. Recorded adults weigh 1.5 kg to 1.75 kg and live up to 4.83 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Critically Endangered.
.jpg){kind=link}
Quick facts about the riverine rabbit
- Weight
- 1.5 kg – 1.75 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 4.83 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Young per litter or clutch
- 1.11src for Young per litter or clutch
- Active
- At night (nocturnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Critically Endangered (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the riverine rabbit live?
Not recorded
What is the riverine rabbit?
The riverine rabbit (Bunolagus monticularis), also known as the bushman rabbit or bushman hare, is a species of rabbit that lives among patches of thick vegetation in the Karoo of South Africa's Western and Northern Cape provinces. It is the only member of the genus Bunolagus. It is classified a critically endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN); the most recent estimates of the species' population range from 157 to 207 mature individuals, and 224 to 380 total.
First identified in 1903 as a member of the hares, the riverine rabbit is a medium-sized rabbit, about 33.7 to 47.0 centimetres (13.3 to 18.5 in) long. Its fur has a unique dark brown stripe from the edge of its mouth to the base of its ears, and a white to grey ring around each eye. It is nocturnal and herbivorous, and its diet consists of grasses, flowers and leaves, most of which are dicotyledons. The riverine rabbit digs burrows in the soft alluvial soils of its habitat near seasonal rivers for protection from the heat and for females to nest and protect the young. It is the only African rabbit known to dig its own burrows. Riverine rabbits are polygamous, and live alone throughout the year.
Unlike most rabbits, female riverine rabbits produce only one to two young per year. This contributes to its status as critically endangered, along with habitat loss from agricultural development, soil erosion, and predators. Human impacts on the environment have a significant impact on the species' continued survivability. Currently, there are conservation plans being enacted to stabilise its population and protect its habitat.
From the Wikipedia article “Riverine rabbit” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Riverine_rabbit&oldid=1382798622), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the riverine rabbit endangered?
The riverine rabbit is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List: it faces an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Critically Endangered species.
How is the riverine rabbit classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderLagomorpha
- familyLeporidae
- genusBunolagus
- SpeciesBunolagus monticularis (Thomas, 1903)
Synonyms Lepus monticularis
Other names and names in other languages (32)
- Bushman hareEnglish
- Bushman hareEnglish
- Bushman rabbitEnglish
- Bushman rabbitEnglish
- BoshaasAfrikaans
- BoesmanhaasAfrikaans
- DoekvoetAfrikaans
- OewerkonynAfrikaans
- PondhaasAfrikaans
- RivierkonynAfrikaans
- VleihaasAfrikaans
- králík říčníCzech
- BuschmannhaseGerman
- HottentottenhaseGerman
- ΘαμνόλαγοςGreek
- Βουνολαγός ο βουνίτηςGreek
- Κουνέλι-βουσμάνοςGreek
- Conejo ribereñoSpanish
- Conejo rivereñoSpanish
- karoonjänisFinnish
- ארנב הנהרותHebrew
- Coniglio di fiumeItalian
- ブッシュマンウサギJapanese
- 강토끼Korean
- 부시맨토끼Korean
- BuskmannhareNorwegian Bokmål
- HottentothaasDutch
- zajęczak buszmeńskiPolish
- Coelho-bosquímanoPortuguese
- Бушменов заяцRussian
- Бушменовы зайцыRussian
- 南非山兔Chinese
Relatives of the riverine rabbit
Other species in the same family Leporidae.
European rabbit
Oryctolagus cuniculus
European hare
Lepus europaeus
Mountain hare
Lepus timidus
Arctic hare
Lepus arcticus
Snowshoe hare
Lepus americanus
Cape hare
Lepus capensis
CompareRiverine rabbit vs European rabbitRiverine rabbit vs European hareRiverine rabbit vs Mountain hareRiverine rabbit vs Arctic hare
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the riverine rabbit?
An adult riverine rabbit weighs 1.5 kg – 1.75 kg, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the riverine rabbit endangered?
The riverine rabbit is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, meaning it faces an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.
How long does the riverine rabbit live?
The riverine rabbit has a recorded lifespan of 4.83 years.
What kind of animal is the riverine rabbit?
The riverine rabbit (Bunolagus monticularis) belongs to the family Leporidae in the order Lagomorpha.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Riverine rabbit (Bunolagus monticularis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/riverine-rabbit
“Riverine rabbit (Bunolagus monticularis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/riverine-rabbit.
@misc{riverine_rabbit_2026,
title = {Riverine rabbit (Bunolagus monticularis)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/riverine-rabbit},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}