It’s no secret that rainforests are among some of the most biodiverse habitats in the world, but as anyone who has visited one will tell you, that doesn’t mean you’re going to be bumping into rare wildlife left, right, and center. Well, unless you’re hiking in Sumatran striped rabbit territory, apparently.

In June 2022, a group of hikers were doing what hikers do best when they literally stumbled upon one of the world’s rarest rabbits hopping at their feet. It was a Sumatran striped rabbit, Nesolagus netscheri, and it’s only been reported a handful of times in the last 50 years.

These rabbits live up to their name in having a watermelon’eqsue sequence of dark stripes across their rusty-colored fur.  Their preferred habitat is remote corners of the forest and as nocturnal animals, they’re only surface-side when it’s dark, so it’s perhaps unsurprising that so few have been seen in the last half century.

That same fact makes it all the more incredible that this lucky group of hikers happened upon a Sumatran striped rabbit without meaning to. The curious critter appears rather non-plussed by the chance meeting, hopping around their feet under the hiker’s torchlight.

When photos of a Sumatran striped rabbit were snapped in 2007, it was reported to be only the third time these animals had been photographed. The first images date back to 1998 in Kerinci Seblat National Park, and the second from Bukit Barisan National Park in 2000.

An injured Sumatran striped rabbit was captured by a farmer back in 2021 during a sudden flood of a nearby river. Bar a small injury to its flank the rabbit was well and able to be successfully returned to the forest at a remote location that was selected based on camera trap data.

“Very little is known about this animal, other than that it shows a marked preference for mossy hill and submontane forest,” said Deborah Martyr, Fauna & Flora advisor for the Tiger Protection & Conservation Units at Kerinci Seblat National Park, in a statement. “The only specimens from Sumatra date back to the Dutch colonial period – and are in the Netherlands, not Indonesia.”

Just goes to show that a sighting of a healthy Sumatran striped rabbit is a rare, happy, and hoppy sight to behold, and one we hope continues to be made for many years to come.

[H/T: Forrest Galante]