Springhare hunting in South Africa

Springhares are a small fawn coloured kangaroo like creature with short forelegs, powerful hind legs and a long black tipped tail. Their forelimbs have strong curved claws, well adapted for digging up vegetative matter which makes up the bulk of their diet. Springhares are nocturnal animals and have large prominent eyes. Springhare’s distribution ranges have been reduced significantly from their former distribution records. They are best hunted in the semi-arid grasslands of the Northern Cape and North West provinces of South Africa. Springhares are mainly hunted for display purposes and used as a prey species by taxidermists when mounting a small predator. Springhares sleep in burrows during the day emerging at night to forage and are hunted with the aid of a spotlight. Their massive eyes reflect brightly at night and can be seen from a distance by the bobbing motion as they hop around on their hind legs. Springhares are considered as a species of least concern by the IUCN. However, if trophies are imported to the United States, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has special rodent import regulations governing the importation of these trophies.