The Annamite striped rabbit occurs at low and medium altitudes in the northern and central Annamite Mountains along the Viet Nam and Lao PDR border.
The Annamite striped rabbit occurs at low and medium altitudes in the northern and central Annamite Mountains along the Viet Nam and Lao PDR border. In Viet Nam, it is believed to occur in six provinces: Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien Hue and Quang Nam. In Lao PDR it is believed to occur also in six provinces: Xiangkhouang (unconfirmed), Bolikhamxai, Khammouan, Savannakhet, Salavan and Xekong. They are found from the Pu Mat Nature Reserve to Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park.
There are no records from the southern parts of the central Annamites or from the southern Annamites but these regions are not obviously ecologically unsuitable. The westward extent of occurrence in Lao PDR appears to be tied closely to localized climactic factors, with all indications suggesting that the species is strongly associated with wet evergreen forest. Fitting this, it has been confirmed in the Lao PDR only in areas close to the border with Viet Nam: a pattern shown by various other wet evergreen forest indicator species.
The Annamite ridge forms most of the international border between the two countries and places most of Lao PDR in the rain-shadow of moisture-laden air masses from Viet Nam in the Lao dry
season. The vast majority of habitat suitable for Annamite striped rabbit is therefore in Viet Nam. Most records come from below 1,000 meters and the species has been recorded nearly down to 50 meters above sea level, although few low-altitude areas retain otherwise suitable habitat. The highest record traced was at 1,300 meters above sea level.
• Image |©️ IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), Some Rights Reserved
• Sources | (Averianov, Abramov, & Tikhonov, 2000; Can, Abramov, Tikhonov, & Averianov, 2001; Hoedl, 2012; Hughes, Trong Trai, Andrew, & Dung, 2001; Nguyen, 2019; Tilker, 2013c; Tilker, et al., 2019; The Wikimedia Foundation, 2021a, 2021b)
