Some people looking cute and furrydomesticated rabbits tend to think that their relatives living in the conditions of cruel wilderness lead the same carefree life and only pinch the juicy grass growing in the meadows. But this is an erroneous opinion, since every new day for them is a constant struggle for survival. The wild rabbit is always in search of at least some food, regardless of the season, and also has to hide from all sorts of predators.
Description
That is why these little animals have suchthe structure of the body, thanks to which it will be easier for them to survive in the harsh conditions of the natural environment. They are endowed with unique abilities to extract their food from under the snow, have excellent hearing, allowing them to hear the approach of a predator at a distance of thirty meters, even if it is not on the ground, but hovers in the air.
A non-uniform color is endowed with a wild rabbit.His photo shows that this animal has a brownish-gray wool on top, sometimes with a reddish tinge. The belly and the tip of the tail are slightly lighter, and on the sides there is a whitish stripe, which passes into a small spot in the upper part of the thigh.
The wild rabbit, unlike the hare, does not change its color during the year, but only occurs, as it should be, two molts - in spring and autumn.
Where do they live?
Изначально эти небольшие зверьки обитали только only on the Iberian Peninsula, but thanks to agricultural activities they were settled in almost all continents except Antarctica and Asia.
Currently, there is a wild rabbit in Russia,Ukraine, as well as in many countries of Europe and Africa. In addition, this small animal can be found on the islands of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans and the Mediterranean Sea.
These animals live only where there arebushes and low trees, but can also live in steppes, forest belts and plantings. Their living conditions are significantly different from the hares' lifestyle, since the wild rabbit needs less territory for its existence. The family of these small animals can safely get along on the ground, the area of which varies from three to twenty hectares. For a more comfortable existence, they dig themselves burrows, reaching up to thirty meters in length.
Dwelling small animals
Such tunnels can be seen on anyopen terrain with difficult terrain, this is where a wild rabbit digs them. Where this small animal lives, only sandy soil prevails there, so that it is easier and more convenient for it to dig holes for itself.
Severe survival conditions forced to hidethese animals as far as possible under the ground, where you can hide away from predators. There they spend most of their lives. Such holes mainly dig females, and it takes a lot of time. They have the form of nesting with three exits to the surface.
Lifestyle
Таким образом, дикий кролик в природе чаще может meet in beams, ravines, on steep sea shores or abandoned quarries. These animals are not at all frightened by the neighborhood with a man, so they can settle even on the outskirts of settlements and at various landfills.
When these little animals choose a certaina territory for their life, they will mark it with an odorous secret produced by the skin glands. Unlike hares, wild rabbits do not lead an isolated lifestyle, but live in whole groups (7-11 individuals). Their families have a rather complex hierarchical structure.
What do they eat?
Дикий кролик при своём кормлении не отходит от burrows further than a hundred meters. Therefore, his diet is not particularly diverse. Only winter and summer meals differ. In the warm period, small animals eat leaves and grass. If there are fields and vegetable gardens near their dwelling, then these animals eat salads, cabbage, all kinds of root crops and grain crops on them.
As the cold approaches, the rabbits move to dry grass and plant parts dug out from under the ground. In addition, in the winter they can still eat shoots and bark of trees or shrubs.
How does reproduction occur
These small animals are considered quiteprolific. They multiply almost year-round. Rabbits can bear offspring about three times per season. Pregnancy of these animals lasts about one month. The number of baby rabbits in a litter can vary from 4 to 12 and depends on the habitat conditions and the age of their mother. Thus, for a year she can bring from 20 to 50 cubs. Within a few hours after giving birth, the female is again ready to mate.
Rabbits of this species are growing rapidlydue to the fact that the very first four weeks after their birth, they feed only on mother's milk. After five months they reach puberty and leave the family, forming their own.
What is the value of these animals for humans?
It turns out that only this species of European wild rabbit was tamed by humans. Therefore, it is considered the ancestor for all, without exception, domestic breeds of these small animals.
Their breeding is currently practiced onterritories of various natural reserve areas and nurseries. European rabbits are in demand with many breeders, as they can be used to improve the breed of domesticated species.
In addition, they are the object of fishing due to its beautiful fur and tasty meat. That is why rabbit breeding is considered one of the most important branches of world agriculture.
Since the domestication of wild rabbits bredalready more than seventy different breeds of these animals. Among them are downy, decorative, as well as those used to test new drugs and food in scientific laboratories.
But besides the benefits, these wild animals in someIn countries where there are no predatory animals, they can bring enormous harm to people, eating all crops, damaging fields, crops, and also spoiling the land with its many holes. For example, in the Pacific Islands, they completely destroyed vegetation, which led to soil erosion and destruction of the coastline, which served to nest seabirds.
