Bend shelter is overrun with rabbits
The Humane Society of Central Oregon is seeing an influx of domestic bunnies which have been abandoned, and now have bred with wild rabbits.
The Humane Society of Central Oregon is seeing an influx of domestic bunnies which have been abandoned, and now have bred with wild rabbits.
Rabbits are rampant in the the Lapine area and when March/April hits…. Gestation is 30 days with 8 new ones and they will pop litters too. Coyotes have shown up and its only a matter of time when the 160+ pound kitty cats make their appearance, again.
Well then they have lots to eat.
That makes no scientific sense. They’re probably just breeding with the other dumped domestic rabbits. Domestic rabbits came from European species and they can’t successfully breed with the American species.
“Pet rabbits are of the genus and species Oryctolagus cuniculus; they are also known as “European rabbits” because they are native to Europe. The fourteen species of wild rabbits and the four species of hares in America belong to the genera (ie genuses) Sylvilagus (which includes cottontails) and Lepus (which includes jackrabbits), respectively.
That means that our domesticated rabbits, if released into the wild, cannot cross breed with wild rabbits or hares, because they are different species and genera, so there is no possibility of mating. They thus cannot disrupt the local ecosystem.
But that also means, since domesticated rabbits are 1) domesticated and 2) not native to this continent, that they cannot survive well in the wild.”