What do rabbits eat in nature. Wild Rabbit: Rabbits in the wild. A memorable appearance or a special anatomical structure of the body

Wild European rabbits are the ancestors of the familiar domestic rabbits. Initially, this species of the hare family lived only in the central and southern parts of Europe, but then it was successfully settled far from its original places.

Today, the European rabbit lives in Australia and on nearby islands, and also inhabits parts of North Africa. For the first time this type of animal was domesticated in ancient times, when the Roman Empire existed.

Since then, rabbits are considered pets, they are kept both for slaughter and for decorative purposes.

The European wild rabbit is no different large sizes, it strongly resembles a hare: its body grows from 30 to 45 centimeters in length, and the weight of this animal does not exceed 2.5 kilograms. The ears of a European rabbit are slightly shorter than those of a hare, their length is no more than 7.2 centimeters, and the hind legs are not so big. The fur cover of the representatives of the species is colored in a grayish-brown hue, but depending on the habitat, it can change to a red color. The ventral region of the body is always light, and the tips of the tail and ears have dark markings. Like wild hares, European rabbits are subject to seasonal molting.

Any terrain is suitable for wild rabbits to live, but these animals still try to avoid dense forest areas. Often the European rabbit can be found in the highlands, although this animal does not climb high into the mountains. Takes a fancy to the European wild rabbit and space close up settlements: close proximity to people does not bother him. Apparently, therefore, rabbits could easily become pets.

Like all representatives of rabbits, European look can be active at any time of the day, but the habitat plays a big role here: if there are many dangers and enemies around, then the rabbit leaves the hole at night. These mammals live in burrows, which they either build themselves or are occupied by ownerless ones.

Rabbits are social animals. They live in groups of 8-10 individuals. Each such community has its own hierarchy and rules of conduct. Going in search of food, European rabbits try not to stray far from their hole, so that there is always the opportunity to hide from the enemy chasing them (for example, or). Food for these animals is plant food: roots and leaves, tree bark, as well as the remains of grass under a layer of snow (in winter).

The mating season for these mammals occurs several times a year. European rabbits are highly prolific: in a year they can reproduce from two to six offspring, each of which can have from 2 to 12 babies. Count - in a year it turns out not so little, isn't it? Pregnancy in a female wild European rabbit lasts no more than a month, and the new generation is capable of reproducing its own offspring already at the age of six months. The life expectancy of this species of animals is 12 - 15 years, but the laws of nature are harsh, and most often these cute little animals die at the age of three.

Many, seeing beautiful fluffy domestic rabbits, think that their wild relatives lead an equally carefree lifestyle, nibbling green grass in the meadows, but this is far from the case. For wild rabbits, every day is a struggle to survive in the harsh environment of the wild.

The lifestyle of wild rabbits is associated with the need constant search food, regardless of the season, as well as the need to escape from predators that hunt rabbits.

The body structure of wild rabbits is due precisely to the need to survive in wild nature because rabbits have unique fixtures for obtaining food from under the snow, a unique hearing that allows them to hear an approaching predator at a distance of 30 meters, regardless of whether danger arises from the air or creeps on the ground.

Surprisingly, only European wild rabbits have been domesticated and are the wild ancestors of all modern domestic rabbit breeds.

Absolutely everything is a natural enemy of rabbits. predatory mammals and birds. The biological age of wild rabbits is 15 years, but in reality, only 30% of rabbits live to the age of three in nature. The mortality of rabbits does not always depend on the activity of predators; diseases often become the cause of the death of an entire family of rabbits.

Rabbits in the wild are real babies compared to their domesticated relatives. Body length varies from 35 to 42 cm, weight ranges from 1.3 to 2 kg, in very rare cases wild rabbits reach a weight of 2.5 kg. The body of the rabbit is squat, the paws are small, the ears reach only 7 cm, the eyes are black. The color of the skin is gray, with darker areas on the tips of the ears and tail. wild rabbit molts twice a year, spring molt takes place from March to May, and autumn molt falls on September-November.

Wild rabbits prefer areas where there are bushy plants, but they can live in the steppes and even in dense forests and plantations, but rabbits avoid forest thickets. The lifestyle of wild rabbits is fundamentally different from wild hares. Rabbits do not need a vast territory to live. The family can live in a relatively small area, ranging from 3 to 20 hectares. In order to provide themselves with a comfortable existence, rabbits dig holes, which can sometimes reach 30 meters in length.

Unlike hares, wild rabbits do not lead an isolated lifestyle. Rabbits always live in families of 8-10 individuals and have a clear hierarchical structure. Wild rabbits are relatively unpretentious in terms of food, so they rarely go further than 100 meters from their hole. The main diet of rabbits is herbaceous plants, roots, tubers, grains, bark. Such unpretentiousness allows the rabbit to quickly settle, capturing more and more new territories.

Initially, rabbits lived throughout southern Europe, but subsequently people settled them in almost all ecosystems, which led to a lot of troubles, for example, in Australia, where wild European rabbits had no natural enemies. Without natural enemies in Australia, rabbits began to actively breed, gradually displacing native rodent species.

The European wild rabbit is remarkably prolific. A female can bring up to six litters per year and, as a rule, from 2 to 12 rabbits in one litter. During the year, the female can produce from 20 to 60 rabbits, which quickly become independent after leaving the hole. Baby rabbits grow extremely fast, as they only feed on milk for the first 4 weeks.

After about 4-5 months, the rabbits reach sexual maturity, leave the family, forming their own families. Breeding of wild rabbits in Europe is currently carried out in nature reserves and nurseries. Some breeders want to buy wild rabbits to improve domesticated breeds.

Wild rabbits are extremely prolific, lead a secretive lifestyle and try to hide from predators. Despite high level mortality of rabbits of all ages, these amazing animals are perfectly adapted to life in the wild and support their population.

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 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 dinner. 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.

For food, they require only grass and shrubs. 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. 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.

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: in 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).

• 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.

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 social life wild animals and what happens when they disappear into their underground burrows?

favorite home

For their minks, rabbits choose sloping slopes to avoid flooding - main danger for underground animals. They dig tunnels in dense soils. This additional protection from predators such as badgers, which 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.

Family

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 mating season 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 solitary 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

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. 

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 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, have to be bred by breeders, but we will talk about these types of rabbits (domestic) 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.

Rabbit can jump 3 meters

rabbits are animal pests for Australia. In 1859, the brought animals destroyed almost all stocks, from which it was decided to exterminate them immediately.

rabbits don't breed as fast as we think. Scientists have calculated that if rodents are not controlled, then they fill only 1 square meter in 90 years.

In Vietnam, in the universally accepted horoscope, a rabbit replaced with a cat. Why? Everything is simple - rabbits they don't have it.

VIDEO: WILD RABBIT

IN THIS VIDEO YOU WILL SEE HOW WILD RABBITS LOOK IN NATURE