Wild Rabbit: Rabbits in the wild. Why does a rabbit breeder need knowledge about wild rabbits? What do wild rabbits eat in winter?

inherent character traits, distinguishing them from other lagomorphs.

Regardless of the species or group, these animals are endowed with special features, their own signs.

Only a complete lack of experience, observation and knowledge in the field of fur animal husbandry does not allow us to say which animal settled in the enclosure. Short-term care and communication will immediately fill in the gaps, and will provide an opportunity to sort it out.

A memorable appearance or a special anatomical structure of the body

The body of a hare is more elongated large sizes with a seasonally changing color depending on the time of year.

In summer, the coat is dark or with variegated stains, in winter it brightens or whitens.

The rabbit looks more modest and does not repaint the fur coat.

The weight of adults depends on the species (there are miniature pygmies that do not reach 400 g), mainly ranges from 2-3 kg.

Pay attention to the length of the limbs. hare paws muscular, strong, formed under the influence of the instinct of self-preservation. The limbs are adapted for fast running through fields, ravines, high jumps. The rabbit does not need sharp turns.

For its range of life, tender, short, neat paws are quite enough to move calmly, evenly. But large soft pads and powerful claws, adapted for digging deep underground passages. They move on the surface only on their fingers, relying on all points at once (5 on the front paw and 4 on the back).

Long high rabbit ears are not needed either.

Their locating abilities are designed for a delicate, thin, medium-sized auricle.

They look proportionally on the head with uniformly smooth forms of the nose and shortened antennae.

The fur is thick, intensely colored, soft to the touch, without stiffness.

It molts twice a year. Gray, yellow-brown colors with a monochromatic undercoat predominate.

Do not change for summer or winter. Scientists involved in a detailed study find differences in the structure internal organs. For example:

• The position of the epiglottis above the palate opens the way to nasal breathing.
• Intestinal digestion, the process of which takes place with a huge participation of the caecum.
• The musculature of the tract is arranged in such a way that there is a clear distinction between solid fibrous residues and easily digestible substances.
• The structure of the cranium and the unequal development of individual bones.
• The teeth (incisors) are arranged in 2 rows.
• The width of the lumbar vertebrae is several percent larger.
• Muscle contraction occurs almost similarly to hares, except for the frequency of the heartbeat.

Each trait manifests itself to a certain extent depending on. The difference between lagomorphs is clearly visible in the way of life.

Habits and character

The aggravated struggle for survival in the outside world left a deep imprint on the animals. Quietly exist in natural conditions they succeed only thanks to high vigilance, courtesy. Constant vigilance to calculate the threat, makes you constantly be on the alert, survey the open area. A reliable fortress, shelter from enemies is a hole.

Burrowing shelters for (European Commons) is just as important as foraging.

They build whole underground "cottages" with a system of transitions and can spend there all their free time from eating and walking in the air.

Maternity wards and primary nurseries for offspring are arranged here.

The offspring of rabbits is numerous (from 3 to 10 pieces), so special niches are equipped for it, lined with soft dry grass, leaves and mother's fluff. Rabbits are born helpless blind and naked, they need to be warmed, wrapped and protected from pests.

The markings that the female leaves at the entrance are a protective barrier. An excessively long absence of the mother near the cubs is not allowed.

For the first weeks, little mole rats suck milk. It is indicative that only the mother can feed the babies. Identification of a blood relative occurs by smell. they give reinforcements to any strange hungry cub of their own breed. Once in the vicinity of a cub in need of help, they will fulfill their duty to nature.

Hares from the moment of birth are endowed with relative independence. A house in a small open-air hole requires caution and the possibility of additional warming. They immediately have a fur coat, open eyes, a developed sense of smell and the ability to run away from danger. The hare does not run the risk of being left without food, it can be reinforced by any female running past, and this gives a great chance of survival, even if the mother has moved far away or died.

Replenishment in families appears more often (3-4 times a year), and not only in the spring, as in their relatives.

Due to their fertility, populations remain numerous even during periods of death due to epidemics, excess activity of predators.

Rabbits live collectively, uniting in groups, they can be easily tamed and domesticated, grown in cages, hares are individual, form pairs for the mating season, do not survive in captivity.

Behind the seemingly inexperienced similarity lies a lot of differences.

Where do rabbit families live and how do they choose the area

Any representative of the fauna cares about living conditions as seriously as about food reserves. Rabbits choose habitats based on habits, expediency. They usually settle in areas with difficult terrain. For the construction of burrow complexes suitable:

• Hills.
• Steep banks of large rivers, seas.
• Beams with dense young growth and abandoned sand quarries.
• Some species settle on the slopes of volcanoes.
• There are lovers of wetlands with bumps.
• The only species of American rabbit does not dig tunnels, but lives in open fields, making holes, like hares.
• The North Caucasian group may use dense thickets for habitation.

In mountainous terrain, it is easier to deal with laying, expanding holes, living chambers. But the soil must be pliable, not rocky or clayey. The entrances are quite wide (up to 25 cm in diameter) covered with canopies made of earth. At a distance of 80-90 cm, the tunnel narrows slightly. The optimal height of the "rooms" up to half a meter is sometimes less or more. To prevent the vaults from collapsing, builders calculate the location under the roots of a tree or shrub.

Family clans own a space of several hectares, depending on the saturation of the grass cover. They do not move too far from the minks and if the food runs out, does not recover, then they move to new housing. Families are polygamous, but there are also monogamous males.

The correct choice of location affects the well-being, numbers, flow and end of life.

What does the diet consist of, and how is the problem of vitamin deficiency solved?

Rabbits main menu - ground part herbaceous shoots, young shrubs. In summer they eat greens. They go to the vegetable fields,. They feast on cabbage, beets, carrots, respect lettuce leaves. Sometimes they make their way into the gardens and bury themselves in apples. In the fall, they look for hot places on grain crops.

In winter, the diet changes. If dry grass cannot be obtained from under the snow, the tips of the lower branches of cherries, apple trees, and willow trees are used. lack of moisture useful substances compensated by eating morning droppings. Such cecotrophs are similar to storage chambers for concentrated vitamins.

Useful waste is covered with a mucous capsule. They contain many enzymes important for digestion, cell growth, and metabolism. They are of particular importance for young animals during puberty and pregnancy.

In times of food shortages, to save life, they eat the bark of trees and try to climb higher to get juicier pieces. Because of these habits, rodents are considered pests of agricultural plantations.

Health and the course of life depend on feeding. In nature, it lasts up to 3 years, although the potential is laid for 10-12 years. Nutrition is directly related to the number of animals per square meter, a vicious circle is obtained.

Trying to regulate the number of individuals different ways. They hunt, carry out trapping, with the accelerated growth of the rabbit population, they use a bacteriological attack, spreading diseases by piece.

What climate do eared animals like

Are there rabbits everywhere?

Naturally, there are no food bases in the Antarctic ice, and it is impossible to dig holes in the permafrost, which means that such animals cannot be found there.

Among the known studied 20 species of wild rabbits, only one lives in Europe, it was from him that domestic representatives divorced.

The rest are mainly settled in America, Africa, Australia.

Wild, whose prevalence has increased several times over the past century, settled in those parts of the continents where warm mild climatic conditions prevail.

The primary range was limited to the African northwestern part, the south of France, Iberia. In these regions, the glacier did not linger, and food remained.

The main requirement for the success of the expansion of the territory of existence is the height and constancy of snow cover throughout the winter. The less snow on the ground and the days of its continuous lying, the greater the percentage of survival of furry settlers. The border snow threshold is considered to be a period of 3.5 months with relative mild weather.

The Romans and the Norman conquerors brought fur-bearing animals to the Mediterranean, Ireland, and the British Isles. In the Middle Ages, they populated almost the entire European space, which pleased citizens with low and medium incomes, becoming useful prey for them.

Experienced rabbit breeders have long known that sometimes their animals acquire a grayish-brown color and become similar to their own. 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 on campaigns an animal that was found in abundance in North Africa and in 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.

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

A rabbit may have several births in a year. total strength up to 40 kids. 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. It's another reason short life 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.

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: in environment not enough 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).

Wild or European rabbit- a cute sociable animal and a distant ancestor of all breeds of domestic rabbits. It is unusually prolific and easily adapts to life in a variety of natural conditions.

HABITAT

In the past, wild rabbits were distributed throughout Europe, but in ice Age survived only in the Iberian Peninsula and Northwest Africa. With the warming of the climate, the animals again settled in Europe and Western Asia, and later the colonists brought them to Australia, New Zealand and South America. Most often, rabbits settle in open meadows, pastures and fields, preferring sunlit areas with sandy soil, ravines and hills. They feel best in temperate climate, but they easily get used to completely different conditions.

LIFESTYLE

Wild rabbits live large groups. The colony of animals occupies a certain territory, the boundaries of which are marked with urine, as well as the odorous secretion of anal and submandibular glands. The group has a strict hierarchy. Dominant couple takes the most best places in the center, while the subordinate members of the group live on the outskirts of the colony. Wild rabbits usually live in holes, but they are no less willing to settle in old quarries. The colony is a complex labyrinth of habitable burrows and winding underground corridors with a large number inputs. Rabbits lead night image life. In the evening twilight, the animals appear from their holes, look around the surroundings for a long time and, only when they feel completely safe, they go outside to devote the whole night to feeding. The basis of the rabbit diet is cereals and others, including weeds, herbs. In winter starvation, the animals gnaw on thin twigs and tree bark. Rabbits have a great many natural enemies, so they are constantly on their guard. Rabbits are hunted by foxes, wolves, lynxes, forest cats, raptors, and sometimes domestic dogs. Sensing danger, the rabbit grinds its teeth and stamps its hind legs to warn its relatives. Rushing to its heels, the rabbit does not run very fast, but nimble, and the flicker of its white tail serves as an alarm for neighbors and distracts the attention of the pursuer. The rabbit, like the hare, digests plant foods in two stages. Eating their soft feces mixed with mucus, the animal makes up for the lack of vitamins (especially group B) and enriches the microflora of its digestive tract. Secondarily digested feces no longer contain fiber and are excreted from the body in the form of dry and hard peas. This phenomenon - cecotrophy - allows the rabbit to more efficiently extract nutrients from the food eaten.

BREEDING

The rabbit is famous for its incredible fertility. One female brings up to 6 litters of 2-10 rabbits per year (on average 5-7, maximum - 12). The breeding season begins at the end of winter and lasts until the end of summer. During this period, the dominant female chooses the safest hole in the central part of the colony for the nest. The remaining females of the group are forced to be content with burrows on the outskirts of the rabbit town. The female lines the nest with dry grass and wool plucked from her abdomen, and after a pregnancy that lasts about a month, she brings forth cubs. Immediately after lambing, the female mates again. The rabbits are born blind, deaf, naked and weigh from 25 to 40 g. Having barely recovered from childbirth, the mother goes to feed, but often returns to the nest to feed the babies with milk. By the end of the first week of life, the rabbits are overgrown with wool and learn to walk. At 10 days old, babies begin to see clearly, and after another 6 days they begin to be reinforced with plant foods.

At the age of one month, the rabbits are already completely independent, and the mother stops feeding them with milk. The mortality of juveniles is very high, as they are easy prey even for such small predators like badgers, otters and cats.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Although farmers consider wild rabbits to be noxious pests, they still bring certain benefits. When in the 50s. In the 20th century, their European population was greatly thinned out from viral myxomatosis, fields and gardens were quickly flooded with weeds, including sow thistle.
• In the 1st century A.D. e. The ancient Romans domesticated wild rabbits, highly appreciating their tasty and tender meat. In the Middle Ages, rabbits began to be bred throughout Central Europe, and in the 16th century the first domestic breeds appeared, differing from wild relatives in size, color and length of wool. Currently, there are about 50 breeds of rabbits.
• In 1859 European settlers brought 16 rabbits to Australia. Not having natural enemies, the animals began to multiply so quickly that after 30 years their population reached 200 million. Eating pasture vegetation, damaging crops and spoiling land with their burrows, rabbits turned into a real disaster. According to biologists, their expansion caused the extinction of several species of marsupials.

RELATED SPECIES

The Zaitsev family unites over 40 species of hares and rabbits inhabiting all continents except Antarctica. Some species of these animals are very numerous and are found in a variety of places, while others are rare and in a strictly defined area. Rabbits eat plants and tend to live in burrows. These animals are extremely prolific and often cause great damage to cultivated crops.

It is found on the slopes of volcanoes in the vicinity of Mexico City, forming groups of up to five individuals. It has short ears and grayish-brown fur. Doesn't burrow.

- the smallest of all rabbits. Inhabits the eastern states of the USA, leading a solitary lifestyle. Able to climb the branches of shrubs.

- lives in the southeastern states of the United States. It is an excellent swimmer and builds nests from aquatic plants.

Wild rabbits settle mainly in areas with shrub vegetation and rugged terrain - along beams, ravines, steep shores of seas and estuaries, abandoned quarries. Less common in forest belts, gardens, parks and very rarely in arable fields, where modern methods tillage destroys its burrows.

They do not avoid the neighborhood of a person, settling on the outskirts settlements, in landfills and wastelands. The mountains do not rise above 600 m above sea level. Important for rabbits is the nature of the soil suitable for digging; they prefer to settle on light sandy or sandy loamy soils and avoid dense clay or rocky areas.

On the daily activity the rabbit is strongly affected by the level of anxiety. Where rabbits are not disturbed, they are active mostly during the day; when pursued and in anthropogenic biotopes, they switch to a nocturnal lifestyle. At night they are active from 11 p.m. to sunrise, in winter - from midnight to dawn.

Wild rabbits are sedentary, occupying areas of 0.5-20 hectares. The territory is marked with the odorous secretion of the skin glands (inguinal, anal, chin). Unlike hares, rabbits dig deep complex burrows in which they spend a significant part of their lives. Some burrows have been used by rabbits for many generations, turning into real labyrinths, covering an area of ​​up to 1 ha. For digging, rabbits choose elevated areas. Sometimes he makes holes in the cracks of rocks, in old quarries, under the foundations of buildings. Burrows are of two types:

• simple, with 1-3 exits and a nesting chamber at a depth of 30-60 cm; they are probably occupied by young and single individuals;
• complex, with 4-8 exits, up to 45 m long and up to 2-3 m deep.

The entrance to the burrow is wide, up to 22 cm in diameter; at a distance of 85 cm from the entrance, the passage narrows to 15 cm in diameter. Living quarters have a height of 30-60 cm. The entrances to the main tunnels are identified by heaps of earth, small passages at the exit do not have earthen heaps. Rabbits usually do not go far from burrows and feed on adjacent areas, hiding in the burrow at the slightest danger. Rabbits leave inhabited burrows only when they are destroyed or the vegetation around the burrow is severely degraded. Rabbits do not run very fast, not reaching speeds above 20-25 km / h, but very nimble, so it is difficult to catch an adult rabbit.

Rabbits live in family groups of 8-10 adults. The 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.

The message about the rabbit can be used in preparation for the lesson. The story about the rabbit for children can be supplemented with interesting facts.

Rabbit Report

Rabbit - small furry animal genus of mammals of the hare family. These animals are not only bred for meat and fur, but also kept at home as decorative pets.

Description of the rabbit

The size of an adult rabbit is from 20 to 50 cm in length, and the weight is from 400 g to 2 kg. Rabbit fur is fluffy, warm and soft.

The coat of the rabbit is long and soft, and the color includes various variations of gray, brown and yellow flowers, although rabbits with a solid color of fur are often found.

How long does a rabbit live?

AT wild nature The life expectancy of rabbits is 3-4 years. At home, rabbits live from 4-5 to 13-15 years.

What does a rabbit eat?

Rabbits eat, in addition to herbs, wild and cultivated cereals, cabbage, lettuce, root crops, sometimes small insects. The winter diet includes bark and branches of trees and shrubs, underground parts of plants that can be excavated from under the snow. In the absence of food, rabbits practice coprophagy - eating their own feces.

Where do rabbits live?

Rabbits are distributed almost all over the world. For their home, they choose thickets of shrubs, slopes of ravines and hills.

Unlike hares, rabbits dig deep holes - real underground labyrinths. The passages stretch far in different directions, sometimes intersecting with each other. Sometimes a rabbit wanders underground for a long time before it comes out.

rabbit breeding

Rabbits are very prolific. Rabbits can bring offspring several times a year. At one time, 4-7 rabbits are usually born. They are born naked and blind, in nests that females specially line with their own fluff. In a few days they will be covered with fluff - and their eyes will open. The rabbit feeds the babies with milk.