Wild Rabbit: Rabbits in the wild. Why does a rabbit breeder need knowledge about wild rabbits? How do rabbits live in the wild?
Rabbit is a mammal belonging to the hare family. Now, rabbits bred not only for food and its fur, but also as a pet. How do rabbits live in nature and what do they eat there? Today we will talk about it.
Rabbits in the wild
Wild European rabbit in length 31-45 cm, rabbit ears 6-7.5 cm, despite the fact that the skull is much smaller. Weight such a rabbit reaches 2.5 kg. Color its gray-brown, and on the back you can see a reddish color. Boca rodents of light color, stomach white, their tails are white, their ears are black and tail the black. In rare cases, wild European rabbit can be found pure white, light gray or even mottled. places, where does this rabbit live: Sea of Azov, North Caucasus, Russia and in general, on all continents except Asia and Antarctica. chooses rabbit a place of residence with good soil so that you can easily dig a mink - quarries, ravines, coastal cliffs.
Types of wild rabbits
How many species of rabbits are there in the wild? You will be surprised, but their number is not so great.
1. Wild rabbit (European)
2. Water rabbit
3. Red rabbit
4. Idaho rabbit (pygmy)
5. Steppe rabbit
6. Nuttala rabbit
7. California rabbit
8. Tailless rabbit (teporingo or volcanic)
9. Rabbit Flanders
10. Rabbit Risen
11. Rabbit Gray giant
Most of the rest rabbit species, account for breeding by breeders, but we will talk about these types of rabbits (domestic) with you in other articles.
INTERESTING FACTS AND NUTRITION OF THE WILD RABBIT
What do wild rabbits eat?
Wild rabbits eat stems and leaves of plants, in vegetable gardens or in fields, they get themselves cabbage, carrots, lettuce and various other crops. In the cold season food source is the bark of trees, branches of shrubs and trees. Interestingly, in the absence of any source of food, they eat their own excrement in order not to die of hunger. Of course, in can be fed at home the same (except excrement). Add in the diet you need hay, coniferous branches, dandelions, chicory, chamomile, yarrow, mouse peas, nettles, alfalfa, wheatgrass, chickweed. Can't feed parsley and dill, which contain essential oils. rabbits give both mineral stone and chalk. From fruits and vegetables, you can give cucumbers, zucchini, all kinds of cabbage, apples, carrots, watermelon and melon peels. With pleasure, rabbit gnaws white crackers. For grinding teeth, give willow branches, pears, apples, acacias, lindens, aspens. And with indigestion, a few branches of oak or alder.
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VIDEO: WILD RABBIT
IN THIS VIDEO YOU WILL SEE HOW WILD RABBITS LOOK IN NATURE
Experienced rabbit breeders have long known that sometimes their animals acquire a grayish-brown color and become similar to their wild ancestor. Who is this? Wild European rabbit! We will tell you about him and his wild counterparts right now.
The wild European rabbit today can be found not only in Europe. Even at the beginning of our era, the ancient Romans took with them the animal, which was found in abundance in North Africa and the Pyrenees. It had tender meat and the ability to reproduce rapidly. He took root in new places easily, since all he needed was juicy grass and soft soil to dig holes. In the video from Michael Billerbeck - one of these rabbits.
Later it turned out that the animal lends itself to selection - so rabbits from Europe became the ancestors of all modern breeds. It is the only wild species that humans have managed to domesticate. In total, there are about 20 species of wild rabbits in nature, which live mainly in America and Africa.
In Europe, as before, only one species lives - our friend. Back in the middle of the twentieth century, he destroyed crops and young gardens. But its population has been reduced to an acceptable size. But the Australians have to fight him to this day.
In the middle of the 19th century, settlers brought wild rabbits from Europe in the hope of having delicious meat for lunch. But it turned out that there were no predators that these animals would serve as food. What started here! Rabbits from Europe began to spread across the continent, multiplying exponentially. When foxes were brought to them “as a gift”, they set to work on less nimble food - marsupials. Then it was decided to build from north to south ... a fence - in the photo below one of its sections.
Main subspecies
In addition to the wild European, the American wire-haired rabbit is very numerous, numbering 13 species: Florida, river and swamp, pygmy, teporingo, steppe and others. They live in forests and bushes. They do not dig holes, preferring secluded places in pits or occupying other people's dwellings. We offer a more detailed look at all types in the plate.
| Florida | The wadded tail is famous for its white bottom tail and moodiness in nutrition. | |
| River | The river rabbit is a good swimmer. In the water, he hides from enemies and looks for food. Lives preferably in the southern United States. | |
| pygmy | The pygmy rabbit weighs about 400 grams. Unlike the rest of the "Americans", it is famous for its soft beautiful hair. | |
| Teporingo | A rare species that lives in Mexico on the slopes of volcanoes. |
Lifestyle
Rabbits have many enemies, and rarely survive to a natural death. Usually, by the end of the third year, only a third of the litter remains.
They require only grass and shrubs for food. Unlike hares, this is a collective animal living in small colonies of 8-10 individuals. A strict hierarchy reigns in the colony with the "supreme" male not at its top. It can occupy from 0.2 to 20 hectares, tearing out a whole underground “city” with emergency exits on “its” territory. As a rule, the rabbit does not go further than 100 meters from the course, preferring nightly forays for food.
reproduction
For a year, a rabbit can have several births with a total number of up to 40 babies. She usually gives birth underground. Newborns have no fur, are blind and deaf. The mother feeds them with milk several times a day, but by the end of the first month she can quit, preparing for a new replenishment. This is another reason for the short life of the eared.
Economic importance
Despite the delicious meat that rabbits are famous for, people's attitude towards them is contradictory. On the one hand, the European wild has become the patriarch of all domestic long-ears. And still serves as the subject of study in order to breed new breeds and maintain their good health.
The wild rabbit continues to be an object of hunting for people. Especially in Australia, where its meat has even become one of the export items.
On the other hand, wild eared ones are enemies of crops and young trees. And therefore, not a single farmer rejoices at the appearance of a colony of these animals in his area, destroying them, if possible, as malicious pests.
But thanks to the fantastic fertility today, wild rabbits are not threatened with extinction. They continue to be part of the living diversity of our planet.
Photo gallery
Photo 1. Steppe subspecies or Audubon 
Photo 2. Swamp animal eats leaves 
Photo 3. Florida subspecies close-up
Video "Wild rabbit"
Sometimes a wild European rabbit has a hard time: the environment lacks nutrients. And he lets the food in... for the second round. You can learn more about the nutrition of animals from the video (DRUGOK.NET).
European or wild rabbit (from the Latin Oryctolagus cuniculus) [animal kingdom > chordate phylum > mammal class > placental infraclass > hare order > hare family] - a mammal, a representative of the genus of rabbits, which is of South European origin. It is this type of rabbit that is the only one that has been massively domesticated and is the forerunner of the entire modern variety of rabbit breeds. But there is also a bad experience of domesticating a wild rabbit, for example, when they tried to domesticate it in the original ecosystem of Australia, this led to an ecological disaster. The wild rabbit has been domesticated since Roman times, and is still a commercial animal that is raised for meat and fur.
Outwardly, a wild rabbit is a small animal that looks like a hare, only smaller in size. The body length of representatives of this species of rabbits ranges from 31 to 45 cm. Body weight can reach 1.3-2.5 kg. The length of the ears is 6-7.2 cm. The hind legs are rather small compared to other types of hares.
The color of the body of a wild rabbit is brownish-gray, in some parts a little reddish. The tips of the ears and tail always have a darkish color, and the belly, on the contrary, is white or light gray. Molting in wild rabbits is quite fast but not very noticeable, spring molting lasts from mid-March to the end of May, and autumn - from September to November.
The habitat of wild rabbits is quite wide, the largest population is concentrated in the countries of Central, Southern Europe and North Africa. There have been attempts to acclimatize the wild rabbit in the Americas, as well as Australia, it cannot be said that they were successful, but today representatives of this species of rabbit can be found in these parts of the world.
The habitat of wild rabbits also varies considerably, they can live in almost all types of terrain (although they avoid dense forests), 
they are absolutely not afraid of approaching settlements and can live even in mountainous regions (but do not rise above 600 m above sea level).
The daily activity of a wild rabbit depends on the degree of danger to which he is exposed - the safer he feels, the more active he is during the day. The habitat area, which will be enough for a wild rabbit, is limited to 0.5-20 hectares. Unlike other types of hares, they dig fairly large and deep holes (the largest of them can reach 45 m long, 2-3 m deep and have 4-8 exits). And one more difference between a wild rabbit and other species is that they do not lead a solitary lifestyle, but live in families that consist of 8-10 individuals. In the whole structure of the life of wild rabbits there is a complex hierarchical structure.
In search of food, wild rabbits do not leave their holes for more than 100 m, so their diet cannot be called too diverse. In summer, leaves and roots of herbaceous plants predominate in it, and in winter - the bark and branches of trees, the remains of plants that they dig out from under the snow.
Wild rabbits breed quite often - 2-6 times, each time the hare brings 2-12 rabbits. Pregnancy takes 28-33 days, i.e. a year the female brings 20-30 rabbits. At birth, baby rabbits weigh only 40-50 grams, are completely bare of fur and are blind. Their eyes open only on the 10th day of life, and on the 25th day they can already feed on their own, although the female does not stop feeding them with milk for the first four weeks. They reach sexual maturity at 5-6 months. The maximum life expectancy of wild rabbits is 12-15 years, although most of them do not live up to three years.
Some people, looking at cute and fluffy domesticated rabbits, tend to think that their relatives, who live in the harsh wild nature, lead the same carefree life and only nibble on the juicy grass growing in the meadows. But this is an erroneous opinion, since each new day for them is a constant struggle for survival. A wild rabbit is always in search of at least some kind of food, regardless of the season, and besides, it still has to hide from all kinds of predators.
Description
That is why these small animals have such a body structure, thanks to which it will be easier for them to survive in the harsh conditions of their natural environment. They are endowed with unique abilities to extract their food from under the snow, have excellent hearing, allowing them to hear the approach of a predator at a distance of thirty meters, even if it is not on the ground, but hovering in the air.
Outwardly, a wild rabbit looks like a hare. Its description can begin with the fact that it is small in size. The body length ranges from 32 to 46 centimeters, while it weighs no more than two kilograms. His hind legs are smaller than others and hares, and his ears are longer.
A wild rabbit is endowed with a heterogeneous color. His photos show that this animal has a brownish-gray coat on top, sometimes with a reddish tint. The abdomen and tip of the tail are slightly lighter, and a whitish stripe is visible on the sides, turning into a small spot in the upper part of the thigh.
A wild rabbit, unlike a hare, does not change its color during the year, but only two molts occur, as expected, in spring and autumn.
Where do they live?
Initially, these small animals lived only on the Iberian Peninsula, but thanks to agricultural activities, they were settled on almost all continents, except for Antarctica and Asia.
Currently, the wild rabbit lives in Russia, Ukraine, as well as in many countries of Europe and Africa. In addition, this small animal can be found on the islands of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans and the Mediterranean Sea.
These animals live only where there are bushes and low trees, but they can also live in steppes, forest belts and plantings. Their living conditions differ significantly from the way of life of hares, since a wild rabbit needs a smaller territory for its existence. The family of these small animals can easily get along on the land, the area of \u200b\u200bwhich varies from three to twenty hectares. For a more comfortable existence, they dig holes for themselves, reaching up to thirty meters in length.
home of small animals
Such tunnels can be seen in any open area with difficult terrain, it is there that a wild rabbit digs for himself. Where this small animal lives, only sandy soil prevails there, so that it is easier and more convenient for it to dig holes for itself.
The harsh conditions of survival forced these animals to hide as deep underground as possible, where you can hide away from predators. There they spend most of their lives. Such holes are dug mainly by females, and this takes a lot of time. They look like a nesting place with three exits to the surface.
Lifestyle
Thus, a wild rabbit in nature can more often be found in gullies, ravines, on steep sea shores or abandoned quarries. These animals are not at all afraid of being close to humans, so they can even settle on the outskirts of settlements and in various landfills.
When these small animals choose a certain territory for their life, they always mark it with an odorous secret produced by the skin glands. Unlike hares, wild rabbits do not lead an isolated lifestyle, but settle in whole groups (7-11 individuals each). Their families have a rather complex hierarchical structure.
What do they eat?
A wild rabbit, when feeding, does not move further from the hole than a hundred meters. Therefore, his diet is not particularly diverse. Only winter and summer meals differ. In the warm period, small animals eat leaves and grass. If there are fields and gardens near their dwelling, then these animals eat salads, cabbage, all kinds of root crops and grain crops on them.
With the approach of cold, rabbits move to dry grass and parts of plants dug out of the ground. In addition, in winter they can still eat shoots and bark of trees or shrubs.
How is reproduction
These small animals are considered to be very prolific. They breed almost all year round. Rabbits can bear offspring about three times per season. Pregnancy in these animals lasts about one month. The number of rabbits in a litter can vary from 4 to 12 and depends on the living conditions and the age of their mother. Thus, in a year she can bring from 20 to 50 cubs. Within a few hours after giving birth, the female is again ready for mating.
Rabbits of this species grow at a rapid pace due to the fact that the very first four weeks after their birth they feed only on mother's milk. Five months later, they already reach puberty and leave the family, forming their own.
What is the value of these animals for humans?
It turns out that only this type of European wild rabbit was tamed by people. Therefore, it is considered the ancestor of all domestic breeds of these small animals without exception.
They are currently being bred on the territory of various natural reserves and nurseries. European rabbits are in demand by many breeders, as they can be used to improve breeds of domesticated species.
In addition, they are an object of fishing due to their beautiful fur and delicious meat. That is why rabbit breeding is considered one of the most important branches of world agriculture.
Since the domestication of wild rabbits, more than seventy different breeds of these animals have already been bred. Among them are downy, decorative, as well as those used to test new drugs and food in scientific laboratories.
But in addition to being useful, these wild animals in some countries, where there are no predatory animals, can cause great harm to people, eating all crops, damaging fields, crops, and also spoiling the land with their numerous holes. For example, in the Pacific Islands, they completely destroyed the vegetation, which led to the destruction of the coastline, which served as nesting seabirds.
Summing up, we can come to the conclusion that these amazing animals are perfectly adapted to living in the wild, so they can support their population.
Appearance
Medium-sized animal: body length 31-45 cm, body weight 1.3-2.5 kg. The length of the ears is less than the length of the head, 6-7.2 cm. The feet are pubescent, the claws are long and straight. The coloration of the upper body is usually brownish-gray, sometimes with a reddish tint. The tip of the tail is black or grey. On the back, a dark brown striation is visible, formed by the ends of the guard hairs. At the ends of the ears, black rims are distinguishable; buffy patches on the neck behind the ears. A dull light stripe runs along the sides of the body, ending in a wide spot in the thigh area. The belly is white or light gray. The tail is brown-black above, white below. Quite often (3-5%) there are individuals of aberrant color - black, light gray, white, piebald. There is practically no seasonal color change. There are 44 chromosomes in the karyotype.
Rabbits shed 2 times a year. Spring molt begins in March. Females molt quickly, in about 1.5 months; in males, summer fur appears more slowly and traces of molting can be observed until summer. Autumn molt occurs in September-November.
Spreading
Initially, the range of the rabbit was limited to the Iberian Peninsula and isolated areas in southern France and northwest Africa: it was here that these heat-loving animals survived after the last major ice age. However, thanks to human economic activity, the rabbit has settled on all continents, except for Asia and Antarctica. It is believed that rabbits came to the Mediterranean region along with the Romans; Normans in the 12th century brought them to England and Ireland. In the Middle Ages, the rabbit spread throughout almost all of Europe.
The determining factor for the optimal life of the species is the minimum number of days with snow cover per year (up to 37), as well as the maximum number of winters without stable snow cover (at least 79% on average). If the number of days with snow cover exceeds this indicator, the rabbit population acquires a pulsating character, i.e. in mild winters, in case of overpopulation, rabbits from more southern regions move to more northern ones, where they die again in more severe winters. The maximum possible threshold is 102 days with snow cover.
At present, wild rabbits live in most areas of Western and Central Europe, in Scandinavia, in southern Ukraine, in the Crimea, in North Africa; acclimatized in South Africa. On the islands of the Mediterranean Sea, the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans (in particular, the Azores, Canary Islands, Madeira Island, Hawaiian Islands), rabbits were released specifically so that they would breed and serve as a source of food for the crews of passing ships. The total number of islands where rabbits have been introduced reaches 500; thus, they live in a wild state on a number of islands in the Caspian Sea (Zhiloy, Nargen, Bullo, etc.), where they were brought in the 19th century. In the middle of the XVIII century. rabbits were brought to Chile , from where they have already independently moved to the territory of Argentina . They got to Australia in the city and a few years later - to New Zealand. In the 1950s rabbits from the San Juan Islands (Washington) were released in the eastern United States.
In Russia and CIS countries
Rabbits live in family groups of 8-10 adults. Groups have a rather complex hierarchical structure. The dominant male occupies the main burrow; the dominant female and her offspring live with him. Subordinate females live and raise offspring in separate burrows. The dominant male has the advantage during the breeding season. Most rabbits are polygamous, but some males are monogamous and stay on the territory of one particular female. Males jointly defend the colony from strangers. Mutual assistance exists between the members of the colony; they alert each other of danger by tapping the ground with their hind legs.
Nutrition
When feeding, rabbits do not move more than 100 m from their burrows. In this regard, their diet is not selective, and the composition of feed is determined by their availability. Food is different in winter and summer. In summer, they eat the green parts of herbaceous plants; in the fields and vegetable gardens they feed on lettuce, cabbage, various root crops and grain crops. In winter, in addition to dry grass, underground parts of plants are often dug up. A significant role in winter nutrition is played by the shoots and bark of trees and shrubs. They “ring” the trunks of cherries and acacias, in case of hunger they gnaw the bark of walnuts, they try to climb trees and shrubs to a height of up to 1.5 m. In a situation of food shortage, they also eat their own feces (coprophagia).
reproduction
Rabbits are very prolific. The breeding season covers most of the year. During the year, rabbits can bring offspring in some cases up to 2-4 times. So, in Southern Europe, from March to October, a rabbit brings 3-5 litters out of 5-6 rabbits. In the northern parts of the range, breeding continues through June-July. Out of season pregnant females are rare. Populations introduced in the Southern Hemisphere breed all year round under favorable conditions. In Australia, there is a break in breeding in the middle of summer when the grass burns out.
Pregnancy lasts 28-33 days. The number of rabbits in a litter is 2-12, in the wild usually 4-7, on industrial farms 8-10. Postpartum estrus is characteristic, when females are ready to mate again within a few hours after giving birth. The average population growth per season is 20-30 rabbits per female cat. In northern populations with less favorable climatic conditions, there are no more than 20 rabbits per female; in the Southern Hemisphere - up to 40 rabbits. The number of cubs in the litter also depends on the age of the female: in females younger than 10 months, the average number of rabbits is 4.2; in adults - 5.1; from the age of 3 years, fertility decreases markedly. Up to 60% of pregnancies are not carried to delivery, and the embryos spontaneously resolve.
Before giving birth, the rabbit arranges a nest inside the hole, combing out the underfur for him from the fur on her stomach. Rabbits, unlike hares, are born naked, blind and completely helpless; at birth, they weigh 40-50 g. Their eyes open after 10 days; on the 25th day, they already begin to lead an independent lifestyle, although the female continues to feed them with milk up to 4 weeks of life. Sexual maturity is reached at the age of 5-6 months, so early litters can already breed at the end of summer. However, in wild populations, young rabbits rarely breed in their first year of life. In captivity, young female rabbits can give birth as early as 3 months of age. Despite the high reproduction rate, due to the mortality of young animals in the wild, the population profit is only 10-11.5 rabbits per female. In the first 3 weeks of life, about 40% of young animals die; in the first year - up to 90%. Mortality from coccidiosis is especially high in rainy times, when water floods the burrows. Only a few rabbits live past the age of 3 years. The maximum life expectancy is 12-15 years.
Number and importance for humans
The number of populations of wild rabbits is subject to significant changes, in some cases it can reach an abnormally high level. With mass reproduction, they harm forestry and agriculture.
They are hunted for fur and meat. The rabbit has been domesticated for over 1000 years. The issues of breeding rabbits for industrial purposes are dealt with by the livestock industry - rabbit breeding, food; used for experiments in genetics. Rabbits can also be kept as pets.
Rabbits as pests
In some areas, rabbits, in the absence of natural predators, do great harm by eating vegetation, damaging crops and spoiling the land with their burrows. So, on some islands of the Pacific Ocean, rabbits ate vegetation, which caused soil erosion and the destruction of the coastal zone where seabirds nested.
However, the greatest damage was caused by the spread of rabbits in Australia, where they were brought in the 18th century. In 1859, the settler Tom Austin, who lived in Victoria, released 24 rabbits, they bred, and by 1900 their number in Australia was already estimated at 20 million heads. Rabbits eat grass, making food competition to sheep and cattle. They cause even more damage to the native fauna and flora of Australia, eating relict vegetation and displacing native species that cannot compete with rapidly breeding rabbits. Shooting, poisoned baits are used as measures to combat rabbits; in addition, European predators were brought to Australia - fox, ferret, ermine, weasel. Mesh fences are being installed in places in Australia to prevent rabbits from settling in new areas. The most successful way to deal with these pests was the "bacteriological war" of the 1950s, when they tried to infect rabbits with an acute viral disease - myxomatosisendemic to South America. The initial effect was very large, in many areas of Australia up to 90% of all rabbits died out. Survivors have developed immunity. The rabbit problem is still acute in Australia and