![]() ![]() ![]() The Domestic (European) rabbit ( Oryctolagus cuniculus) is another introduced species. It is commonly seen along roads, brushy fencerows, and blackberry thickets in and around areas where it has been introduced. It averages 17 inches in length and is light brown in color the white underside of its 2-inch tail is readily visible when the rabbit runs. 1) was introduced to several areas in Washington as a game animal beginning in the 1930s. The Eastern cottontail (rabbit) ( Sylvilagus floridanus)(Fig. It is slate-gray with a buff-colored tail and is found in the dense sagebrush and rabbitbrush areas of south-central Washington (where fewer than 50 of these rabbits exist) Introduced Rabbits 3) is the smallest rabbit in North America, measuring only 11 inches in length. The Pygmy rabbit ( Sylvilagus idahoensis)(Fig. Than a foot in length, these small endangered rabbits haveīeen the focus of WDFW research and conservation efforts. A pygmy rabbits sits in the early morning sun. Rabbits may live two or more years in the wild, but when predators are numerous and weather conditions are extreme, they seldom live more than a year.įigure 3.The young are eaten by mink, skunks, long-tailed weasels, gopher snakes, and domestic cats young in nests are vulnerable to weed-wackers, lawn mowers, hay mowers, and other agricultural equipment.Adult rabbits are preyed on by large hawks and owls, domestic dogs, coyotes, foxes, and bobcats. ![]() The number of rabbits in a given area will increase and decrease in a cycle connected with predator populations and food availability.At two weeks of age the young rabbits begin to eat vegetation at four to five weeks old they are feeding alongside their mother.For about two weeks, the mother rabbit stays away from the nest so as not to show predators the location of the young, returning only at dusk and dawn to nurse and lick her young clean.Famous for their reproductive abilities, rabbits have a 30-day gestation (pregnancy) period, and have several litters containing four to eight young each year. The breeding season for rabbits begins in mid February and can continue through late summer.Mammals of the Pacific Northwest: A Pictorial Introduction Weed and tall-grass patches, and orchards throughoutĮastern Washington. The Nuttall’s cottontail is found in sagebrush areas, Nests and dens are located in or near brushy fencerows or field edges, brush piles, gullies containing shrubs, and landscaped areas with suitable cover.įigure 2.Where soil conditions and food supplies permit, domestic rabbits live in groups in large, complex burrow systems called “warrens” (Fig.Female domestic rabbits (and our rare Pygmy rabbits) excavate burrows for their shelter and den site.Females of most rabbit species create a shallow, bowl like nest called a “form,” and line it with leaves, grass, and fur plucked from their bellies.After returning to their shelters, they pass soft pellets containing undigested vegetation, and then eat these at a more leisurely pace, later passing hard pellets. Rabbits and hares re-ingest their droppings to further digest the material, a process called coprophagy.In dry interior areas, Nuttall's cottontails climb sloping tree trunks to access green, dew-laden vegetation. ![]() In winter, their diet shifts to buds, twigs, bark, conifer needles, and practically any green plant.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |