Black Rabbit

[Dutchess]

Oh BWM! Watership Down.....*sobs* The book is just as good by the way. Neither are for kids really, much of it must go over their heads. Not exactly Disney, is it?

Yes, domestic rabbits to seem to do alright for themselves once they are accepted into the wild population. It's probably the does that are most successful (what with rabbits being rabbits and doing rabbity things ) I do suspect that many lone individuals fall victim to predators quite early on though, especially bucks who would find the wild males a bit on the fiesty side when it comes to territory. Mind, I have one big, very nasty mixed breed buck out there who I am sure would take on any newcomer and win! No-one else can handle him except me and he sees our four cats off, no problem there! He is a big, agouti coloured rabbit with bright blue eyes....in fact, he looks a bit like that bad rabbit in Watership Down, the one with the blind eye!

Here's me, rabbiting on...

D.

[zek]

I haven't carried out a detailed scientific study on this subject, but I am fairly familiar with rabbits in the wild state and as pets - it's my humble opinion that most and almost all unusually coloured rabbits seen in the wild are not released pet rabbits. Granted, some will be, but most I judge are pure wild rabbits. Remember, unusual colours occured in the wild long before there was such a thing as a pet rabbit. For example, Jackdaws, crows, blackbirds etc with white feathers aren't the progency of aviary stock - they're simply colour mutations.

Black seems to be the most common colour mutation in wild rabbits. I've seen a couple of white ones, a few collared, a ginger etc, but many blacks,

thanks,
Keith.

[cutecoot]

I once planted a 'mile a minute' russion vine in the garden .. and couldn't work out why it wasn't growing at the rate of a mile a minute, that was until I saw a black rabbit chewing away at it!! I just assumed he was someone's escaped pet at the time, but actually thinking about it, it was probably more likely to have been a wild one.

[lost in the woods]

HI
When we stayed on the Isle of Mull this year opposite the cottage we were renting was a field full of rabbit burrows of a evening there was about a hundred wild rabbits out and fifty percent of them were black
Regards
Lost in the Woods

[Tracey.A]

We have black rabbits in the glen at Dunfermline and their numbers seem to be increasing recently. Did anyone see that programme 'Pets behaving badly'? One of the pets featured was a rabbit, who really went for the two family pet dogs, the poor dogs were scared to death of this rabbit and bitten to bits by it. Bucks can be very aggressive when protecting their doe, in this case I think the killer rabbit regarded it's owner as it's doe and the dogs as intruders.

Nice pic by the way Snake

Tracey

[Meta menardi]

Originally Posted by cutecoot

I once planted a 'mile a minute' russion vine in the garden .. and couldn't work out why it wasn't growing at the rate of a mile a minute, that was until I saw a black rabbit chewing away at it!! I just assumed he was someone's escaped pet at the time, but actually thinking about it, it was probably more likely to have been a wild one.

And it was certainly doing you a favour, that Russian vine is a garden wrecker.

[cutecoot]

Originally Posted by Meta menardi

And it was certainly doing you a favour, that Russian vine is a garden wrecker.

I know .. I have one in my new garden .. (the flowers smell awful too! )

[james bennet]

Whilst on a water vole survey at a farm a few months ago we happened across what appeared to be a domestic rabbit (white and brown) which had escaped and was hopping around a field. We spent half an hour attempting to catch it but without any luck; it later turned out this was originally a farm pet which had 'gone wild'; it kept escaping from its hutch and now, apparently, looks after itself quite happily (save for occasionally being harrassed by well-meaning conservationists!).

[Queen bee]

I've seen two within about 2 miles of one another... one stitting on the dual carriageway and the other in a much quieter road on two routes into the same town.

[Dutchess]

Originally Posted by Queen bee

I've seen two within about 2 miles of one another... one stitting on the dual carriageway and the other in a much quieter road on two routes into the same town.

Funny isn't it, the way they pick the most busiest and unlikely of places to graze? I'm fascinated at the amount of bunnies gathered around Gatwick airport, sitting on traffic islands and narrow verges, surrounded by the biggest of buses, coaches and the like, constantly trundling through their territory 24/7!