EPHRATA, Washington - Wildlife experts are making one last effort to save the endangered Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit, believed extinct in the wild since mid-2004.

The pygmy rabbit is the smallest rabbit in North America, and can fit in a person's hand. Adults weigh about 0.45 kilograms and measure less than 30 centimeters in length. The previous effort to reintroduce the pygmy in 2007 ended badly when they were quickly gobbled by their many predators.

Some 100 pygmy rabbits are being released this time into large wire enclosures.

The rabbits - who were raised in captivity for this last-ditch effort - must learn quickly to find food, breed and avoid being eaten. The wire enclosures give them a fighting chance to survive, scientists say.

"If this doesn't work, I'm not sure what Plan B would be," said Matt Monda of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, who has been working for years to save the endangered species.

Only the Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit is endangered. Pygmy rabbits thrive in other western states and are not protected.

This recovery effort is not without some controversy.

A big concern was all the engineering that has gone into these animals, Monda said. The original goal was to preserve the genetics of the Columbia Basin rabbit, but that proved impossible because of small numbers and problems that resulted from inbreeding.

The animals in the new effort are the result of cross-breeding with other pygmy rabbits from Idaho and Oregon.

"That was a controversial idea, to bring non-endangered rabbits and make them endangered," Monda said.

Associated Press

(China Daily 06/14/2011 page10)