Rabbit

Facts
Scientific Name: 
Oryctolagus cuniculus
Weight : 
Up to 2kg
Life Span: 
Up to 10 years.
Also Known As: 
Bunny
Information
Description : 

Short brown/greyish fur tinged orange at the nape, with a short black tipped white tail and long ears.

Distribution : 

Commonly seen throughout the British Isles.

Habitat : 

Unlikely to be found in coniferous forest areas, Rabbits may be found on almost any other habitat such as heathland, grassland, sand dunes and woodland.

Predators : 

Rabbits are the prey of other mammals including foxes, weasels, badgers and domestic cats and are also hunted by buzzards. Rabbits are also hunted by man.

Reproduction : 

Although a doe Rabbit could produce a litter of up to six young every month this rarely happens and most breeding takes place between January and June. About 10 live young are produced in a year. The buck Rabbit will mate with several different does.

Status : 

Very common and widespread.

Did You Know?: 

Some sea birds such as puffins and shearwaters will take over uninhabited rabbit burrows on cliff edges. Rabbits tend to search for food at dawn and dusk, and will warn other rabbits of the threat of predators by thumping the ground. There were no rabbits in Britain until they 12th Century when they were brought in from the Continent.

Footprint Images: 
Footprint Description: 

No interdigital or proximal pads.4 digital pads on both fore and hind feet.Sometimes only claw marks are visible in tracks. Hind track is very often an elongated slipper shaped impression.

Footprint Size: 

Hind foot - 6x2.5cm, fore foot - 3.5x2.5cm. Stride approx 20cm.

Images of Tracks : 
Tracks Description: 

Rabbit burrows are usually found in numbers, and are of a vertically oval shape.Smaller in size than those of Fox and Badger, numbers of droppings around the entrances give away the occupant.

Droppings Images : 
Droppings Description : 

Rabbit droppings are round, around 1cm in diameter and are sometimes green when fresh, otherwise dark. Contain plant remains.Usually odourless but when territorial marking odour may be more noticeable.Often deposited in very large numbers in regular latrines, although may also be scattered randomly.