With record-breaking storms wreaking havoc throughout California, even rabbits need rescuing.
For months, a team from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has navigated the Central Valley looking to rescue from rising floodwaters stranded riparian brush rabbits, a small, brown, and white creature listed as an endangered species.
How the rabbits are rescued
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The five team members used canoes and motorboats to rescue rabbits in the San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge from sunrise to past sundown, as per Phys.org.
Some are stranded on high ground, on tree branches, or on bush branches. They are then transported to higher ground as the river level rises and floods the area.
286 rabbits were rescued during operations in January and March, according to Fumika Takahashi, wildlife biologist at the San Luis National Wildlife Refuge Complex, which includes the San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge.
More operations are planned for next week.
"These rabbits are resilient, they bounce back, but each one you rescue becomes important," she said.
Why the rabbits are endangered
The rescue effort comes a couple of months after the state endured one of the wettest winters in years.
According to the Fish and Wildlife Service, the riparian rabbit was believed to be found only in Caswell Memorial State Park and near Lathrop, as per LA Times.
But with dangerously low numbers, the species was reintroduced into the San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge, about 75 miles northeast of San Jose.
Riparian brush rabbits are especially vulnerable to floods because they live at the edges of rivers, refuge manager Eric Hopson said in a statement
Because they only live in a small area and are few in number, events like this can have a significant impact on their population and recovery.
Living near rivers, the animals have evolved to be able to survive floods, but not for long periods of time, as they have this year.
They're actually very good at climbing vegetation and can even swim short distances, according to her.
"But when we have these large floods, there's very little high ground for them to escape to."
The San Joaquin River has previously flooded in the area, most recently in 2017.
However, due to climate change and the current landscape, which includes growing farms, the rabbit can no longer flee upland.
Levees along the river have cut off rabbits' escape routes, and flooding has directly impacted their habitat.
Because of this, officials created what are known as "bunny mounds," or areas of high land in flood-prone areas where the animals can escape to during flood events.
However, food is scarce in these areas, exposing the rabbits to predators.
37 of the rabbits were rescued from the mounds in January. In March, 110 bodies were discovered in the mounds.
According to Takahashi, the rescues this year have been especially significant for the endangered rabbits because the refuge estimates that there are only 2,000 to 3,000 rabbits in the area.
The rabbits are taken to a shelter and given medical care
The boat then took the rabbits to a nearby animal shelter, where they were checked by a veterinarian and given food and water.
Some of the rabbits had injuries or infections from the flood, while others were pregnant or had babies. The shelter staff treated their wounds and gave them antibiotics and painkillers.
The shelter also contacted other animal welfare organizations and rabbit lovers to help find homes for the rescued bunnies.
They posted photos and videos of the rabbits on social media and asked people to adopt or foster them. Within a week, all of the rabbits had found new families or temporary caregivers.
The rescue operation was hailed as a success by the volunteers and the shelter staff, who said they were happy to save so many lives.
They also hoped that their actions would raise awareness about the plight of rabbits in New Zealand, where they are often killed or poisoned as pests.
The volunteers said they would continue to monitor the flooded area and rescue any other animals that might be in danger.
They also thanked the fisherman who lent them his boat and nets and the people who donated money or supplies for the rabbits.
