Sandleford in West Berkshire, England was home to the rabbits in Richard Adams’s novel, Watership Down. In the novel, the rabbits were forced out of their warren by developers.  Now, fiction may become reality as the West Berkshire Council has proposed Sandleford Park as a potential site for 2,000 houses.

Many people are opposed to developing on the greenbelt land, including Richard Adams, who was born in the area. “I am absolutely resolutely opposed to any development on that area. I am strongly opposed to it and would expect the planning authority to refuse any development.”

For more information, see:

BBC.co.uk
NewburyToday.co.uk
Say No to Sandleford Campaign

Photo by Linda Cullivan, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Northeast Region

In an effort to bolster New England cottontail numbers, wildlife biologists have captured five cottontails from stable populations in eastern Connecticut and will transfer them to the Roger Williams Park Zoo in Rhode Island as part of a breeding program.  The offspring, once old enough, will be radio collared and released into Rhode Island. If the program is successful, they will release the young into other New England states as well.

It’s strange to think that such a prolific animal could be in danger of extinction, but the New England cottontail population has been dwindling for quite some time now due to loss of habitat (shrubby, “early successional” habitat) and competition with larger, hardier Eastern cottontails (which are not native to the region).

For more information, see: The Day.

Dexter Meyer had parked his new Volkswagen Jetta in the airport parking lot while away on a nine day vacation. Upon his return, Meyer was greeted with blinking lights when he started his car. A trip to the dealership found that wires had been chewed through. The mechanic suggested a rabbit was the culprit because he had seen a few cars brought in from the airport with chewed wires.

The airport has a fence around the lot, but apparently the rabbits are too sneaky to be kept out by it. If those wild rabbits are anything like our two troublemakers wires are too tempting to not be chomped.

For more visit Denver’s 9 News.

Watch it here:

Yesterday, Agnes spotted two wild rabbits in her backyard. Perhaps there will be a new bunny family?

Students at Fremont Middle School in Fremont, Nebraska were surprised by an interesting view when they entered their social studies classroom. A wild rabbit had created a burrow in the snow right next to the window.

For more info, see The Fremont Tribune.

In a very eye-opening slide show, Scientific American revealed that 30% of the world’s rabbit species are at risk. The slide show profiled 6 species of wild rabbit and 1 species of hare in danger of extinction in their native habitats. Included are the European rabbit, Amami rabbit, hispid hare, lower keys marsh rabbit, New England cottontail, volcano rabbit, and pygmy rabbit.

View the full slideshow »

An estimated 7000 feral rabbits are currently living in Helsinki. These former pets and offspring of former pets are spreading into other regional areas in efforts to find land enough to sustain them. The rabbits have been destroying park land and local vegetation in their quest for food.

Few natural predators and mild winters have added to the population growth. Arno Kasvi, head gardener at Turku University’s Botanical Gardens, has called for a culling of the rabbits before the population becomes unmanagable.

Additional article: http://www.yle.fi/uutiset/news/2009/02/urban_rabbit_population_explodes_554379.html

Researchers believe the decline is caused by the change in environment. New England cottontails thrive in young forests (forests 25 years old or less) that include a lot of shrubs and thickets. They also rely on interbreeding between cottontail populations in order to produce healthier, more genetically diverse offspring.

Unfortunately for New England cottontails, forests have been growing for 100 years after the decline of colonial agriculture in 1900, which means the shrubs and thickets have given way to trees. Furthermore, the landscape has been divided by housing development and roads, making it very difficult for the rabbit populations to mix.

For more info:
http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20081105-LIFE-811050355
http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/dfwcotontail.htm

For more info: http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_16135.shtml