Day 9: Star Species
Wild Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus)
This evening it finally stopped raining so we decided to stop by my local SSSi reserve; Crymlyn Burrows. I absolutely love this place, which is situated next to a very busy A road. Once you are there, amongst an array of unusual plants, mammals and birds, the traffic seems like miles away.
In the short time we were there we spotted: fox, green woodpeckers, long tailed tit, chaffinches and lots of rabbits.
In the short time we were there we spotted: fox, green woodpeckers, long tailed tit, chaffinches and lots of rabbits.
More about them - The rabbit are one of the UK's most commonest and most widespread mammals. They live in burrows, otherwise know as a warren. It can be found in a number of different habitats: grassland, cultivated land, woodland, farm land and coastal cliffs - infact anywhere it can breed and find food.
Wild rabbits live in large colonies and up to 200 individuals can be in one warren. They only live for approximately 18 months in the wild but can breed throughout the year. They can produce around 7 young each time and one pair of rabbits can produce up to 1000 rabbits within a year.
Rabbits have many predators; stoat, fox, birds of prey and of course man. Their long ears are adapted for detecting nearby predators.
Skomer Island - I have been to Skomer Island in Pembrokeshire many times and the rabbits on the island always interest me. In the 13th Century rabbits were brought to the island where it was used as warren knowing the rabbits could not escape. Today, the burrows are shared between rabbits, puffins and the manx shearwater.
Interesting Facts:
Wild rabbits live in large colonies and up to 200 individuals can be in one warren. They only live for approximately 18 months in the wild but can breed throughout the year. They can produce around 7 young each time and one pair of rabbits can produce up to 1000 rabbits within a year.
Rabbits have many predators; stoat, fox, birds of prey and of course man. Their long ears are adapted for detecting nearby predators.
Skomer Island - I have been to Skomer Island in Pembrokeshire many times and the rabbits on the island always interest me. In the 13th Century rabbits were brought to the island where it was used as warren knowing the rabbits could not escape. Today, the burrows are shared between rabbits, puffins and the manx shearwater.
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| A pair of rabbits on Skomer Island |
Interesting Facts:
- Rabbits are not native to Britain; the Normans brought them here in the 12th century from Spain and South-West France. They were mainly used for fur and meat, but many escaped into the wild, eventually becoming one of our Nations' most common mammals.
- Rabbits re-swallow up to 80% of their faeces to use their food more efficiently (yuk!)
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