Southern Springhare (Pedetes capensis) lives in open savanna across Southern Africa. It feeds on grass and leaves. Its conservation status is Least Concern.
Fascinating facts about the Southern Springhare
- A springhare's underground home can be as wide as a dinner plate (20 cm diameter), plunge 1 m deep and stretch up to 7 m long, covering as much as 170 m². Individuals rotate through 4-27 burrows, with 70 % of tunnels used by only one animal, creating a sprawling, private network that buffers extreme desert temperatures and offers refuge for other species.
- Black-footed cats rely on springhare tunnels for kitten nurseries. Researchers tracked five females and recorded an average of 12 different shelters per cat over a 138-day period, with each den used about two days in a row. Before kittens are six weeks old, mothers stay six days in one burrow, then switch almost daily as the young start roaming, a strategy that spreads scent and cuts predation risk.
- Springhares reaching 80 cm (31 in) from nose to tail tip and tipping the scales at 2.5-3.5 kg (5.5-7.7 lb). Their powerful hind legs let them launch 20 cm hops and 2 m leaps, making them the kangaroo-like sprinters of the savanna.
- Under ultraviolet light, springhare fur glows with a patchy bio-fluorescence, brightest on the parts they groom and use to signal each other. This glow makes them the first Old World eutherian mammals fully documented to fluoresce.
- Springhares reproduce year-round, gestating for about 77 days and birthing a single pup roughly three times annually. Newborns weigh 250-300 g and stay hidden in the burrow for seven weeks, growing to about 1.3 kg before venturing out.
Sources
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At a glance
RangeSouthern Africa
HabitatOpen savanna
DietGrass and leaves
About the Southern Springhare
In the sun-baked grasslands of southern Africa, the southern springhare emerges as a whimsical figure, its oversized hind legs propelling it across the landscape with an endearing awkwardness, like a puppet on a string. As it bounds effortlessly, its long ears flapping wildly in the wind, this curious creature seems almost otherworldly, a true marvel of evolutionary adaptation. With each majestic leap, the springhare traverses vast distances, its unique gait a testament to its remarkable ability to thrive in this unforgiving yet beautiful environment.
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