The Assam rabbit is a hare with short, broad ears and a coarse outer coat. It feeds on grass roots and shoots in tall-grass country.
Its ears are short and broad, and its eyes are small. A coarse, bristly outer coat lies over a shorter, finer undercoat.
Researchers surveyed Hispid Hare signs in Shuklaphanta National Park in western Nepal. They placed 80 strip transects, each 20 by 4 metres, and recorded 93 pellet groups. Pellet groups occurred in 20% of transects. Occurrence was highest in Haraiyaphanta (35%) and Shuklaphanta (32%).
Records were clumped across the grasslands. In the study model, hare presence was more likely where ground cover and grass density were greater. The probability rose where ground cover exceeded 50% and grass density exceeded six plants per square metre. The study also found that dry ground was associated with hare presence.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
Among threat signs directly observed in the field, grass cutting accounted for 38%, grassland fire 35%, invasive plants 15%, and trampling 12%. In interviews with 20 stakeholders, fire accounted for 40% and grass cutting 30% of mentions; the study reports these two evidence sources separately.