Life History and Economic Value of the

Springhare (Pedetes capensis Jorster) in Botswana

by T.M. BUTYNSKI'

In many under-developed countries, especially those fortunate enough to have a low population
density, the reliance upon wildl ife as a protein and revenue source is very significant. As these
nations undertake development, a human population increase ultimately occurs, and more and
more resources are tapped, often to the point of diminishing returns or even extinction. Wildlife,
through loss of habitat and uncontrolled exploitation, is often the first resource to show signs
of over-utilization.
The objective of every wildlife department is to obtain and maintain the maximum sustained
productivity from the wildlife resource. This requires not only the power to govern the consump-
tion of the resource but also a knowledge of the ecology and value of each species concerned.
The following paper gives a general account of the springhare, Pedetes capensis, and examines
the results of preliminary research into the economic value and utilization of the species by
the peoples of Botswana.

Life History

Springhare are common in Botswana, also occuring in South Africa, South West Africa, Angola,
Rhodesia, Zambia and Tanzania. Smithers (197 I) shows the springhare to occur over most of
Botswana, the exception~ being the areas of high human population, the swamps, and places
of hard and rocky ground.
Reproduced by Sabinet Gateway under licence granted by the Publisher (dated 2009).

The springhare is a large nocturnal rodent which, with its huge hind legs, short front legs,
and saltatory habit, greatly resembles a miniature kangaroo. Adults attain a length of over 80
centimetres, half of which is the length of the tail. The head, with long pointed ears and large
eyes, is very rabbit-like. A long, soft fur covers the tail and body, becoming shorter on the
legs, head and ears. The colour of the fur is rufous-brown with white under the chin, on the
belly, down the inside of the legs and beneath the tail. The last 20 centimetres of the tail
are black. Young animals possess a finer, fluffier fur and usually have black fur under the
hind feet and a patch of black under the tail near its base. Each of the four digits of the hind
feet is equipped with a strong triangular nail, while the fore-feet have give digits, each with
curved slender claws, 16 millimetres long. Adults weigh 2,7-3,5 kilograms. Sexes are impossible
to distinguish when not in the hand.
Springhare prefer to feed in open or semi-open areas of short grass. This behaviour is reflected
in the high springhare densities (over 30 springhare per acre) commonly encountered around
villages, cattle posts, crop lands, river banks and Kalahari pans. A noticeable increase in spring-
hare numbers occurs where poor agricultural and pastoral practices have depleted the perennial
grass resource. These grasses are either prevented from reaching their nonnal height and density
or are replaced, oftentimes, by star or quick grass species which are readily eaten by springhare.
Feeds consist of tubers, grass roots, conns, stems, leaves and seeds. These are nipped from
the plant with the four large incisors and directed into the mouth with the fore paws. Most
springhare feed singularly but groups of two or three are commonly seen. When grazing, spring-
hare move much as rabbits, putting their weight on the claws of the front feet and bringing
* Thomas M. Butynski is a biologist with the Botswana Department of Wildlife and National Parks. He has a BSc
in Wildlife Biology from the University of Massachusetts and is presently a graduate student at Michigan State University.

A A 209
Reproduced by Sabinet Gateway under licence granted by the Publisher (dated 2009).

Fig . 2
(a) and (b )

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The hook and po/e.
Fig. 1
The spring -hare.
 the hind feet forward. At other times only the hind feet are used, and hops of 20 centimetres
or leaps of two metres are made, with the tail trailing behind as a balancing organ.
Springhare burrows are 20 centimetres in diameter, one metre deep, often more than 7 metres
long, usually have two or more entrances and are always located in firm sand soils. One entrance
is very obvious, with sand from the diggings piled at the opening; the other is hidden and
has no dirt pile, having been dug from the inside. A relatively simple, two-hole burrow can,
over a period of years, become an extensive, complex system with 10 or more entrances. Such
elaborate bWTow systems have given rise to the belief that springhare are colonial animals
but, in fact, the burrows are dug by several generations of springhare with one to four occupying
the burrow at anyone time.
Most springhare leave their burrows soon after dusk and engage immediately in a period
of intensive grazing. All return to their holes before dawn, plugging the entrance with dirt.
Springhare sleep in an upright position, head and forelimbs bent down between the hind legs,
and the tail wrapped around the feet.
In Botswana the springhare breeds continuously, with each female mating several times during
the course of a year. The single precocious young (rarely twins) is born in the burrow. It is
well covered with fur, weighs approximately 300 grams and will not emerge from the burrow
until a weight of at least 1,3 kilograms has been attained. Both sexes mature at a weight of
2,6-2,8 kilograms.
People new to Botswana usually become acquainted with the springhare while driving on
the gravel roads at night. One side of the springhare faces the car, thus only one eye can be
seen, shining like a ·small white reflector in the car's headlights, and can be observed bobbing
up and down in an otherwise stationary position or moving away in arching leaps. The springhare
becomes dazzled when contact with bright light is made, a1\owing the motorist to approach
Reproduced by Sabinet Gateway under licence granted by the Publisher (dated 2009).

within five metres.

Economic Value
During the course of the first year's field work, people were interviewed to determine if and
how they utilized the springhare,. how they obtained it and what general knowledge they possessed
concerning the species. Although the people interviewed numbered only 53, they represented
45 towns and villages throughout Botswana. The following attempt to estimate the value of
the springhare in Botswana is based on personal experience, the results of these interviews and
responses to a questionnaire sent to Agricultural Officers. All calculations are considered conserva-
tive and all values are minimal.

Bushmen The Bushmen are the keenest hunters of the springhare. By fastening several flexible
sticks together, a 4 metre pole is made, to the end of which is affixed a 10 centimetre barb.
This 'springhare pole' is forced into an occupied burrow, hooking the sleeping springhare, who
is then pulled from the hole or held in place and dug out.
The greatest possible use is made of each springhare taken. All meat as well as the eyes,
brain, contents of the small intestine, female reproductive tract and foetus are eaten. The skins
are softened and made into water and food bags or used to make mats, karosses and hats.
The best sinew thread comes from the long tail. An ornamental, noise-making belt is made
by sewing the toes on t<? a string. Dried springhare dung may substitute for tobacco when mixed
with the tar and nicotine scraped from a pipe.
Silberbauer (J 965) gives the number of Bushmen in Botswana at over 24 000, 6 000 of which
still carry on the traditional nomadic life, depending entirely upon the veld for their subsistence.

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 He estimates that one band of 80 Bushmen, consisting of 16 hunters, killed 227 spring hare
in a single year. This is a monthly average of 1,2 springhare per hunter. The present survey
included Bushmen in the Ngamiland, Ghanzi and Kweneng Districts and indications are that
the monthly average is actually somewhere between 4 and 20 springhare per hunter. This infor-
mation, and personal observations of the ease with which Bushmen are able to obtain springhare,
necessitates that an estimate of 6 springhare per hunter per month is very much within reason.
The remaining 18 000 Bushmen, living on ranches in the Ghanzi area and at baKgalagari
or baTswana villages and cattle posts, are generally very poor, possessing few livestock and
working in areas where relatively small amounts of food can be collected from the veld. These
areas, however, normally have high springhare numbers and again between 4 and 20 springhare
per month per hunter are taken.
If 16 hunters is typical for a band of 80 Bushmen, then we can assume that there are 4 800
Bushmen hunters in Botswana. Since each of these men takes at least 72 springhare each year,
the total number kiIled by Bushmen is more than 346 000 annually.

baTswana Springhare are easily available to no less than 70% of the baTswana. Nearly all
of the 215 000 people living in villages of less than 500 persons (Population Census 1971)
are able to find springhare within one half-mile of their dwellings. Most of the 60 000 people
in villages of 500-1 000 persons also have access to nearby springhare populations. People
living in the larger villages and towns, such as Serowe, Kanye, Molepolole and Gaborone,
take some springhare from the surrounding areas and many move out from these densely populated
centres on to the cattle posts and lands for several months of each year.
The survey indicates that springhare are hunted only by men and that of those males interviewed,
Reproduced by Sabinet Gateway under licence granted by the Publisher (dated 2009).

46% hunted springhare. An unequitable proportion of the people interviewed were better educated
and received a larger salary than the average Botswana. Therefore, 46% can be considered
a conservative figure.
The large number of people hunting and eating springhare can be attributed, not only to
the widespread availability and high population density of the species, but also to several other
factors:
1. the monetary outlay is insignificant. A licence, gun or ammunition is not required. The most
common means of capture is the wire snare which, set at the burrow entrance, catches the
emerging or submerging springhare by the neck. Some springhare are taken during the wet
season by directing water down the burrow, forcing the springhare to the surface, and still
others are dazzled by the light of a torch, surrounded by a group of men and then clubbed.
2. The effort-reward ratio is high and the number which may be taken is unrestricted.
3. Indications are that between 10% and 15% of the maize, sorghum, beans and groundnuts
grown in Botswana are destroyed by springhare. Many of the people interviewed obviously
felt that the springhare was better known for the crops it destroyed than for the meat it provided.
All parts of the crop plant may be eaten, at all stages of growth, with preference towards
young leaves and seeds. Plants are often cut off at the base and left with no parts eaten.
With crop protection as an incentive, the number of springhare killed increases during the
summer months.
4. Holding to tradition, most baTswana do not consider their livestock as a meat source to be
eaten or sold for profit, but rather as an indicator of wealth. As a result, 60% (von Richter,
19(9) of the meat protein presently consumed in Botswana is derived from wildlife. A large
proportion of the baTswana live in areas with few or no large game animals or these animals
are made inaccessible due to the cost of a gun, ammunition and transport. For many of these
people the springhare is the staple, aJld perhaps only practical meat source.

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 In some areas the men hunt nearly every day, killing between eight and thirty spring hare during
the course of each month. Overall, the average baTswana hunter kills 2,1 springhare each month.
The estimated 87 000 baTswana hunters kill 2,2 million springhare every year. Each year the
national springhare kill is over 2,5 million animals or nearly 4 springhare per person.
More than three pounds of meat are obtainable from each springhare. This is a total of 7,5
million pounds of springhare meat every year, equivalent to that obtainable from 20 000 cows,
(figure of 375 pounds usable protein per cow supplied by the Botswana Department of Veterinary
Services) or, at a price of 15 cents a pound, worth more than 1,1 million rand.

Other Considerations
Springhare provide food and shelter for many of those species with which it shares its environment.
Predation by the black-backed jackal (Grafton, 1965), silver fox (Bothma, 1966, 197 n, leopard
(Mitchell, 1965), mongoose (Fitzsimons, 1919), and genet (Shortridge, 1934) have been recorded
and Bushmen tell of having seen evidence of its capture by caracal, wildcat, honey-badger,
lion, hunting dog, owl, eagle, python and monitor lizard. Springhare burrows are very common
and of the proper dimensions to provide shelter for many other forms of wildlife. In digging
their burrows, springhare aerate and mix an enormous amount of soil, improving its structure
and creating an ideal seed bed for certain important plant species.
The economic values calculated from the present survey are so significant that it is reasonable
to consider the spring hare as one of the most important food animals in Botswana and, at the
same time. a primary pest species of agricultural crops.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This work was performed while the author was seconded by the United States Government
to the Botswana Department of Wildlife and National Parks during the period 1971 to 1973.
Thanks are due to Mr A. Campbell, Director of the Botswana Department of Wildlife and
National Parks, for permission to carry out and publish this work, to Game Scout G. Dijeng
who acted as interpreter to the Bushmen, to Assistant Game Warden J. Ben for interviewing
persons in the Ghanzi area, and to those fifty-three persons who co-operated in providing the
information recorded by the survey. Miss C. Fisher and Dr W. von Richter kindly read the
manuscript and made a number of helpfUl suggestions, and to them I express particular thariks.

BIBLIOGRAPHY .

Bothma, I. du P. 'Food of the silver fox Vulpes chama' Zoologica Africana (Cape Town, 1966) II, 2, pp. 205-10.
Bothma, I. du P. 'Food habits of some carnivora (mamm3..tia) from Southern Africa' Annals of the Transvaal Museum
(Pretoria, 1971) xxvn, 2, pp. 17-26.
FitzSimons, F.W. The Natural History of South Africa (Longmans Green, London, 1919).
Grafton, R.N. 'Food of the black-backed jackal: a preliminary report' Zoologica Africana (Cape Town, 1965) I,
I, pp. 41-53. .
Mitchell, B.L., Shenton, J.B. and Uys, J.C.M. 'Predation on large mammals in the Kafue National Park, Zambia'
Zoologica Africana (Cape Town, 1965) I, 2, pp. 297-318.
Republic of Botswana Report on the 1971 Population Census (Government Printer, Gaborone, 1972) p. 287.
Shortridge, G.C. The Mammals of South West Africa (William Heinemann Ltd., London, 1934) p. 779.
Silberbauer, G.B·. Bushmen Survey Report (Bechuanaland Press, Mafeking, 1965) p. 138. •
Smitheni, R.H.N. The Mammals oj Botswana (Manion Printeni, Salisbury, 19-71) p. 349.
von Richter, W. Survey of the Wild Animal Hide and Skin Industry, BotswaM (FAG TA Report No. 2637, 1969)
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