Natal Red Rockhare

About the Natal Red Rockhare

The Natal red rock hare or greater red rock hare (Pronolagus crassicaudatus) is a species of mammal in the family Leporidae (rabbits and hares). It has a slightly grizzled, grayish brown head and reddish brown upperparts. The dense fur is thick and rougher than other rock hares. It is endemic to Africa, and found in southeastern provinces of South Africa (Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga, and KwaZulu-Natal), eastern Lesotho, Eswatini (Highveld and Lumbobo), and southern Mozambique (Maputo Province). It is a herbivore, primarily feeding on grass. It breeds throughout the year, and one or two pups are usually born in the summer. It is rated as a species of least concern on the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species.

French zoologist Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire first described the Natal red rock hare in 1832 and classified it in the genus Lepus, giving it the name Lepus crassicaudatus. American mammalogist Marcus Ward Lyon Jr. later placed the Natal red rock hare in the genus Pronolagus in 1906, and it was given the name Pronolagus crassicaudatus. It was previously considered a subspecies of the Jameson's red rock hare (P. randensis).

In the third edition of Mammal Species of the... Wikipedia →