A nocturnal animal of southern Africa that makes long leaps and hides in burrows it digs itself.
It has sand-colored to reddish-brown fur and moves both on all fours and in kangaroo-like hops.
On one Eastern Cape farm in South Africa, natural grassland, old fields, and cultivated plots formed a patchwork. Springhares used short-grass areas more often. Yet disturbance alone was not enough: a plot repeatedly tilled until little vegetation remained was among the least used. The study points to the kind of ground cover, not simply the fact of cultivation.
Feeding patches and stomach contents showed that springhares ate not only leaves but also Cynodon dactylon rhizomes and Cyperus esculentus tubers. More springhares were found where the latter plant was abundant. They avoided chicory plots, and the researchers found no evidence of feeding on chicory leaves or roots. On this farm, their diet depended on plants above and below the soil, not crops in general.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
On a farm in South Africa's Eastern Cape, springhares used short-grass areas, and the abundance of Cyperus esculentus was positively associated with the number observed. Grass height and food plants below ground are relevant local habitat considerations. This was one farm study; a current global conservation category, assessment date, and population trend are not confirmed here.