Wild rabbit

Identification

The rabbit of Garenne presents a silhouette comparable with that of the Lièvre, from which it is characterized mainly by more a shorter small size and ears, with a black higher edge. It measures from 34 to 50 cm (length head and body) for ears from 4 to 8 cm. Its weight varies from 1,2 kg to 2,5 kg.

Its peeling is of russet-red color brown, sometimes fawn-coloured color, thus constituting a camouflage of choice against its Prédateur S. With the approach of the one of them, for example a man, the wild rabbit remains motionless, tapi in its environment, so that a hunter can not see it when well even the rabbit would be with its feet. The lower part of the hairs is blanchâtre. The tail is of darker color top, white lower part.

Distribution and habitat

The wild rabbit is originating in the Iberian peninsula and the the Maghreb. It was spread in the world starting from the last Glaciation (there is 18 000 years). It was domesticated only as from the 18th century.

It is present in the majority of the countries of Western Europe (including in Corsica, Sicily and Sardinia), along the coast of the Maghreb, on the Ukrainian coast of the Black Sea. In Italy and Spain, it rather leaves the place to the Lapin with white tail. It was introduced in Australia by the First Fleet (1787), the fleet of eleven British boats which establishes the first European colony in News-Wales-of-South. Since then, it is present in all the country, except for its Northern circumference. It was also propagated with the New Zealand.

The rabbit prefers the sandy and well drained grounds. One finds it mainly in the moors, the roncières, the hedges and the dunes; it is present up to 1000 meters of altitude approximately. The burrow is dug preferably on a slope, in dry ground; its opening varies from 10 to 50 cm. According to the density of the local population, it is connected or not to the other burrows by galleries. A network of burrows is called a wild rabbit. The rabbit generally moves away from there from a few hundred meters to seek its food.

The vital domain of a rabbit varies from 0,4 to 4 hectares; the territory of a family or a group accounts for as for him 9 to 10 hectares. It is delimited by the Urine, droppings of the dominant males and the secretion of the glands mentonnières. For human, the presence of rabbits is recognized mainly with the presence of groups of droppings, with the scraping of the ground in extreme cases of the territory and the thin vegetation. The Empreinte S of rabbit are comparable with those of hare, but smaller.

Food mode

The food mode of wild rabbit is variable, according to the local environment. It nourishes herbaceous plants, mainly of the Poacées, in spring and in summer; in winter, its mode is composed of stems and barks of shrubs. It can slightly dig the ground to find root S, Graine S and Bulbe S; it is also able to climb in shrubs and bushes to eat the starts-up. The rabbit also eats crop plants (Céréale S or cabbage X). An adult consumes from 200 to 500 gr. of plants per day. When the rabbits are present of important density, their impact on the medium is important: they block the reproduction of certain species of plants but also, consequently, of animals” This classification is based on an observation of the behavior of the rabbit, which spends long hours to stir up the jaws from right to left. Actually, these movements are not explained by rumination but by a supply two times. Initially, the rabbit digests the grass which it consumed: the Cellulose is transformed by the Bactérie S Anaérobie S of the Cæcum into volatile fatty-acids which are used as Nutriment S. It results from it from the cæcotrophes, kind of droppings of a green olive, soft and brilliant that the rabbit réingurgite as of their exit of the anus to suck them lengthily, from where the movement of the jaws describes previously. Final droppings of wild rabbit are of brown dark, more grosses (7 to 12 mms in diameter) and terns.

Behavior

The rabbit is a night and twilight animal. He saw in couple if the density is low and groups some when it is more important. A group counts up to 20 adult subjects; it is generally made up from 1 to 6 males and 1 to 6 females. It comprises dominant males and females: the first monopolize the Accouplement S while the seconds have the best sites to dig the rabouillères (burrows of childbirth). The hierarchical order is called into question to each spring by behaviors of intimidation and combat. Once the hierarchy in place, the aggressive interactions decrease significantly. The dominated individuals do not defend themselves against the attacks of the dominant ones. All the members of the group defend the central part of their zone of influence against the predatory ones, the subjects dominated alive in periphery.

The wild rabbit is quiet, except for thorough acute cries in situation of distress. It types foot in the event of danger, to perhaps prevent its congeneric. The communication between rabbits passes mainly by the odors, which make it possible to identify the sex and the age, but also the social status.

Reproduction and longevity

The male is called a “book” and the female the “hase” as at the Lièvre. It nest in a burrow called also “raboulière”.

The rabbits are famous for their reproductive capacities. Indeed, the couplings can take place all the year, even if the majority of the settings-low take place from February to August. The Ovulation is caused by the œstrus; the œstrus postpartum is possible. The only period of anœstrus is at the autumn. The females reach sexual maturity as of 3,5 months, against 4 months for the males. Gestation lasts 28 to 33 days. A lapine has on average 3 to 5 ranges per annum, each one cash from 3 to 12 young rabbits; the minimal interval between two ranges is 30 days.

The young rabbits are born naked and the closed ears and eyes; they do not open the eyes before 10 or 12 days. The mother once nurses them per day during three to four weeks. During this period, the young people take weight quickly: they pass from 35 to 45 gr. to the birth to 80 % of the adult weight in 3 months. During this time, they remain in the rabouillère dug by their mother to put low. The latter does not remain near them to heat them and testifies to them little to care. On the other hand, it aggressively defends its territory against young foreigners, whereas the males protect all the young rabbits, whatever their family ties with them.

75 % of the young rabbits die during the period of breast feeding. When they reach the sexual majority, the young males are often driven out by the family group. Either they join another wild rabbit, or they carry out a solitary life temporarily. The rabbits live 9 years to the maximum; on average, their longevity hardly exceeds the two years. They are indeed confronted with great number of predatory: Fox S, Long pitchfork S, Weasel S, Cat S foresters, Dog S, Raptor S (Owl large-duke, Eagle of Bonelli), etc the road traffic and the Chasse are also causes of important mortality.

Statute of conservation

The virus of the Myxomatose made devastations in the rabbit populations. In Australia, the virus was inoculated voluntarily in 1950, in order to control the local population, particularly important. It eliminated in a first phase 90 % of rabbits, before some do not develop a natural resistance

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