The last male rabbit of the purebred pygmy rabbit group in the Columbia Basin (USA) has “passed away,” leaving behind two female rabbits in a breeding program aimed at trying to preserve the existence of species that are at risk of extinction. 
These tiny rabbits can only be found in Douglas County in north-central Washington. None are believed to exist in the wild, which means that the two female rabbits, Lolo and Brryn, currently in captivity, are the only purebred pygmy rabbits left on Earth.
“They have been inhabitants of this Earth since before the last Ice Age in eastern Washington. This loss is something we can never quantify,” said Jon Marvel, executive director of the Western Rivers Conservancy, a member of the population protection group for the purebred rabbit species across the West.
Biologists captured 16 rabbits in remote areas of Douglas County in 2001 to kickstart the breeding program. Dave Hays, a biologist specializing in endangered species, stated that Ely, the last of the 16 rabbits, died on March 30 at the Oregon Zoo in Portland.
The last two rabbits in the Columbia Basin, descendants of the original captured rabbits, are currently at the Portland Zoo.
The fate of the isolated rabbits now lies within a breeding program with a closely related species, the Idaho pygmy rabbit.
The breeding program, conducted at the Oregon Zoo, Washington State University, and Northwest Trek in eastern Olympia, currently has 88 Idaho rabbits and Idaho-Washington hybrids. There are 13 female rabbits in the breeding program with genetics that match up to 75% with the Columbia pygmy rabbit.
However, efforts to breed the two purebred Washington rabbits have not been successful.
In the coming month, biologists will determine how many female rabbits are pregnant and how many hybrids will be born this year. Some rabbits may be released back into Douglas County, possibly in early October.
Biologists are planning to construct artificial burrows in the fields where the rabbits once inhabited next month to prepare for their reintroduction into the wild.
V.A
