How do rabbits live in the wild. Wild rabbits: characteristic features of appearance, habits. Where do rabbits live in nature

The wild or European rabbit is the ancestor of all currently existing breeds. This species was domesticated by man in ancient Rome. Since then, rodents have been used to obtain dietary meat and fur.

Appearance

A wild rabbit is a small animal with a body length of up to 45 cm and a weight of up to 2.5 kg. A characteristic feature of the animal is that the length of its auricles is always less than the size of the head, up to 7 cm, unlike hares, which have longer ears. The feet of the limbs of the rabbit are covered with short hair. The paws have long and straight claws.

The coat color of wild rabbits is predominantly gray-brown; in some individuals, a reddish shade of guard hairs predominates. The hairline on the central part of the back is slightly darkened, the tail at the end is also dark, almost black or painted gray, and it is white below. The fur on the sides of the body is always slightly lighter than on the back, and in the abdomen it is white or light gray. On the back of the head, behind the auricles of the animal, there are buffy spots.

Attention! The wool of a wild rabbit does not change color during the seasonal molt, which occurs in autumn and spring.

Spreading

The wild rabbit originally lived in the Iberian Peninsula, as well as in parts of France and northwest Africa. It is believed that in this area, characterized by a warm climate, animals were able to survive after the Ice Age. From here, thanks to the Romans, European rabbits came to the Mediterranean. In the territory of modern England and Ireland, animals were brought by the inhabitants of Scandinavia in the 12th century AD. During the Middle Ages, rabbits had already spread throughout Europe.

In the 18-19 centuries, wild rabbits were specially transported to different islands - Hawaiian, Canary, Azores, and released there for acclimatization and breeding. Animal colonies were supposed to serve as food for sailors. Toward the middle of the 18th century, eared rodents were brought to the territory of Chile, from where the animals independently moved to Argentina. Somewhat later, in the middle of the 20th century, European rabbits were brought to Australia, the USA and New Zealand.

At the moment, wild rabbits live wherever there are no harsh winters. These animals do not exist except in Antarctica and Asia.

Reference. Wild rabbits choose habitats where in winter the number of days with stable snow cover does not exceed 37.

Lifestyle

The European rabbit is sedentary, unlike the hare. Animals inhabit territories with rugged terrain and rich vegetation, since the latter serves as food for them. Animals can be found on the coasts of estuaries, in ravines, gullies. In dense forests, animals are not found, as well as in mountainous areas.

Wild rabbits often coexist with humans, populating the outskirts of settlements, landfills and wastelands. Since rodents have a need to dig holes, the composition of the soil matters to them. Loose soil is preferable for these animals than clay or rocky soil. Having taken a fancy to the territory, the animals mark it with their secret - they rub their faces against objects, scatter excrement and spray urine. These animals prefer to live in small groups in which:

• the leading role is given to the male producer;
• a dominant female with cubs lives with him;
• the group includes 1-2 more females with or without offspring, living in separate burrows.

Young males living in the same colony with the dominant one readily protect females and offspring. Rabbits have their own methods of communication, they warn each other of danger, come to each other's aid.

Attention! Wild rabbits are polygamous creatures, but some individuals create a family with one female and stay with her forever.

Of interest are the burrows of wild rabbits. They are different:

1. Family. Only adult animals live in them. Such dwellings are equipped with several entrances and exits.
2. Brooding. This type of burrow is intended for rabbits. The hatched females independently dig them not far from the family burrow. Brood holes have only 1 entrance, which also serves as an exit. The rabbits come there to feed the cubs. Leaving the nest, the female masks the entrance so that wild animals do not find offspring.

Burrows of family type are simple and complex. The former are intended for single females, and the latter for the dominant male with his family. Simple family burrows have up to 3 entrances and exits, while complex ones have up to 8.

Food

European rabbits eat plant foods. Fearing the attack of wild animals, they go out in search of food mainly at night. Animals do not move more than 100 meters from their homes. Hearing a noise or noticing danger, the animals immediately go to their holes.

The animals are fed by:

• wild herbs;
• garden crops;
• shrub shoots;
• roots;
• cereals;
• tree bark (when vegetation is sparse).

Important! In winter, plant food is not available, so the rabbits look for dry grass under the snow cover and dig up the roots of plants. When animals are hungry, they eat their own feces.

reproduction

In warm regions, wild rabbits breed throughout the year. For example, in countries below the equator, animals do not breed only when the vegetation burns out. Animals living in the central part of Europe actively breed from March to October. Animals that have settled in the northern territories of the European continent stop breeding in July-August. On average, the female brings from 4 to 8 births per year, depending on the climatic conditions in which she lives.

The duration of pregnancy in a wild rabbit is 30 days, sometimes childbirth occurs a little earlier or later. There can be 4-10 cubs in one brood. The fertility of females depends on the following factors:

• health conditions;
• diet;
• age (after 3 years, the fertility rate decreases).

Newborn rabbits are completely defenseless - there is no hair on their body, their eyes are closed. The rabbit builds a nest before the birth, putting fluff from her belly into it. She feeds babies with milk until the age of one month, although already 2 weeks after birth they leave the nest and try adult food.

Reference. The eyes of rabbits open on the 10-11th day of life.

The wild rabbit is the only representative of the rabbit kingdom that has been domesticated. He is the progenitor of all existing breeds, including decorative ones. This animal can be found almost anywhere in the world, with the exception of Antarctica and Asia. Acquaintance with this representative of the fauna helps to better understand what qualities and features are inherent in domestic rabbits, what they need, how they behave in different conditions.

• KEY FACTS
• Name: Wild rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus)
• Distribution: Throughout the European mainland and the British Isles; the species has also been introduced to other parts of the world, for example, to Australia
• Number of social group: 30-60 in a hole; 2-8 in a family group
• Pregnancy period: 30 days
• Independence: 24-26 days
• Territory: 0.25-15 ha, depending on group size and food availability

A young wild rabbit emerges from a burrow.

The wild rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) is perhaps the most famous animal found in Europe.

Most of us have seen rabbits on TV or in movies, read about them in books. Many keep domesticated rabbits, which are not much different from their wild relatives. What is the social life of wild animals and what happens when they disappear into their underground burrows?

favorite home

Rabbits lead a social lifestyle. They live in colonies in elaborate underground labyrinths known as rabbit pens or burrows. A large burrow provides shelter for dozens of rabbits, and it can be built and expanded by many generations over hundreds of years. Digging tunnels is predominantly the responsibility of rabbits, while males are more busy defending their territories from invaders.

For their minks, rabbits choose sloping slopes to avoid flooding - the main danger for underground animals. They dig tunnels in dense soils. This is an additional defense against predators such as badgers, who often dig up rabbit burrows. Each rabbit pens has one or more main entrances (15-20 cm in diameter) paved with handfuls of earth. Additional exits are dug from the inside and carefully covered with vegetation. When the rabbits move within the cage, these inconspicuous exits keep them out of sight of predators. The area of ​​the cage usually occupies 100 m2, in this territory there can be up to 50 hidden exits.

Rabbit burrows are connected by many tunnels, which usually do not exceed 15 cm in width, but in some places they increase significantly in size. Rabbits can roam freely throughout their enclosure, but large enemies such as foxes will not be able to enter here. The maze-like layout also helps to confuse small predators that might climb into the burrow, such as stoats and weasels.

A family

Each cage has a large colony of rabbits, but it is subdivided into smaller social groups, or families. Usually two to six rabbits unite, one or two males join them. Rabbits are often relatives, as they tend to stay in their own family. And young males are not so attached to their relatives: often they join another family or even another cage.

The area around the mink can vary from 0.25 to 15 ha. Rabbits unanimously protect their possessions. Dominant males mark their boundaries with musky secretions from their chin glands. In the same way, parents mark their cubs so that they are not confused with members of a foreign group in the colony. The latrine of the rabbits is outside the cage, and the mink is kept in order. The feces are also used to mark rabbit territory.

During the mating season, the rabbits are very territorial and drive out strangers from other cages, especially males. However, at the end of the mating season, the defenders of the borders relax. At this time, young males seek to find their place in a new family group or colony. Old males, who can no longer be dominant in the colony, or young individuals who have not yet found a permanent home, lead a lonely lifestyle outside the cage. They are called companion males.

Rabbits are most active in the morning and evening. During the day they hide in burrows or bask in the sun near the entrance.

Baby rabbits at the entrance to their burrow in the fields of Scotland. These cubs have "ears on top" and a wary look - they are always ready to dive underground and run away from danger.

The eyes of rabbits are located on the sides of the head, which allows them to see everything around without turning around, and large mobile ears and sensitive hearing help to detect danger. Noticing the threat, the rabbit knocks on the ground with its hind legs, warning its relatives on the surface and those who are in underground burrows. When a rabbit flees from danger, the bright white tip of its tail serves as a signal to others.

During the mating season, before mating, the male takes care of the female: he describes circles around her, waves his tail and sprinkles urine on her. If the rabbit is interested, she stops and approaches the male, patting her tail as a sign of favor.

Pregnancy

Pregnancy, or the gestation period, lasts 30 days in rabbits. After half the term, the females begin to look for a place to nest. This may be a dead end tunnel in a common burrow or a small tunnel located separately from the main cage. Dominant rabbits get access to the best and safest places. Females actively fight for them, in a fight they often injure each other, and sometimes even kill. When a burrow is overcrowded and there is not enough nesting space, some female rabbits leave and establish their own burrows.

A few days before giving birth, female rabbits line the nests for newborns with dry grass and fur from their tummies. Rabbits are born blind and helpless, but mothers do not give them due attention. The rabbits leave the kids themselves and close the entrance to the mink with earth. They visit the nest every night just to feed the babies. It happens that females do not come to the babies and do not feed them for 2 days. Nevertheless, the children survive, and the rare visits of the mother actually help to protect the babies: each visit of the female endangers the rabbits, because at that moment they can be detected by predators watching the rabbit.

Hearing in rabbits develops already on the seventh day after birth, and vision - on the tenth. At the age of 12 days they become very nimble, and after another 6 days they leave the nest for the first time. The rabbits should quickly become independent, because the mother leaves the nest when they are only 25 days old. At this age, they begin to take care of themselves. The period of gaining independence is very risky for rabbits. Typically, out of ten babies, only one survives to adulthood. At 5-8 months, the surviving individuals are ready to have their own babies.

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 survived during the Ice Age 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 climates, but they easily get used to completely different conditions.

LIFESTYLE

Wild rabbits live in 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 the anal and submandibular glands. The group has a strict hierarchy. The dominant couple occupy the 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 of entrances. Rabbits are nocturnal. In the evening twilight, the animals appear from their holes, look around the surroundings for a long time and, only feeling completely safe, 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. Foxes, wolves, lynxes, forest cats, raptors, and sometimes domestic dogs prey on rabbits. 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 as 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 coat length. Currently, there are about 50 breeds of rabbits.
• In 1859 European settlers brought 16 rabbits to Australia. Having no 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.

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).

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. The 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 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