Posted by Shane Becker on
<p>Last male of purebred rabbit species dies</p>
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<p>The last male purebred Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit has died, leaving just two females in a captive breeding program created to try to save the endangered species from extinction.</p>
<p>The tiny rabbits are only found in Douglas County in north-central Washington. None are believed to exist in the wild, which means the two females — Lolo and Bryn — are the only known purebred pygmy rabbits left in existence.</p>
<p>"This is a population that has existed since before the last Ice Age in Eastern Washington. The loss is something we can never calculate," said Jon Marvel, executive director of the Idaho-based Western Watersheds Project, which works to protect pygmy rabbit populations across the West. "Any time we lose a species it diminishes us all."</p>
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<a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12851338/from/RSS/">Last male of purebred rabbit species dies - Science - MSNBC.com</a>