Rabbit

“It’s So Fluffy!”...at Cotswold Wildlife Park

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Here’s something to add more ‘fluffy’ to your day…a herd of cute baby Mini-Lop Rabbits! The wee fluffy ones were born in the Children’s Farmyard Barn, at Cotswold Wildlife Park and Gardens, in the UK.

The bunnies are four-weeks-old and now starting to come out of their nest and explore.

The baby rabbits make their home in the Children’s Farmyard at Cotswold Wildlife Park, where all the animals may be approached and in some cases touched or stroked.

The Mini-Lop is a popular breed of rabbit that is quite often seen in rabbit shows. They are also popular in the pet trade. Bob Herschbach discovered the breed at a German National Rabbit Show in Essen, Germany in 1972. The rabbit was then known as Klein Widder. The first Mini-Lops were originated from the German Big-Lop and the small Chinchilla Rabbit.

Mini-Lops are known to be friendly and playful and can be taught tricks and commands.

Rabbits and Guinea Pigs living at Cotswold Wildlife Park are unwanted pets that have been donated to the facility. The Park does not breed small animals for the pet trade. As with their endangered inhabitants, Cotswold Wildlife Park endeavors to manage all species in a responsible manner.

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Queens Zoo Helps Save New England Cottontail

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WCS’s (Wildlife Conservation SocietyQueens Zoo has successfully bred rare New England Cottontail Rabbits for introduction to their native New England states.

The Queens Zoo started breeding New England Cottontails, this year, as part of a collaborative effort with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), various state agencies in NY and New England, universities, public and private landowners, other conservation NGOs, and the Roger Williams Park Zoo (Providence, R.I.), in an effort to boost the wild population. 

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3_Donna releasing rabbit at Great Bay

4_Released NECT with transmitter NHPhoto Credits: Scott Silver

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the New England Cottontail as “Vulnerable”. The rabbit was recently reviewed for listing as “threatened” or “endangered” under the federal Endangered Species Act. The USFWS found that federal protection was unnecessary, as current conservation efforts have shown productive results, and ongoing plans are in place to recover the species. 

New England Cottontails have light brown coats and look strikingly similar to the more populous Eastern Cottontail Rabbit, which is designated “Least Concern” by the IUCN. The Eastern Cottontail is not native and was introduced to the region in the early 1900s, primarily for hunting purposes. DNA analysis is the most reliable way to distinguish between the two species.

The Queens Zoo’s breeding program takes place in an off-exhibit space, and the rabbits are not on exhibit for public viewing. Special habitats and conditions have to be created to encourage courtship and breeding. The adult males and females are initially kept in their own enclosures, and then introduced in specially designed rabbit pens, where they get to know each other and hopefully reproduce. These pens have hay beds, nest boxes, and other features so they can pair up or separate much as they would in the wild. After a week of living together, the rabbits are separated, and each one goes back to its own enclosure. These environmental variations are important to the regular reproductive cycle of the species.

This season, 11 young rabbits (known as kits) were born at the Queens Zoo and sent to New Hampshire and Rhode Island. Once there, biologists from the partnering agencies first introduced them to a one acre outdoor acclimation pen and fitted them with transmitters to track the migration patterns of the rabbits. When ready, they were fully released into suitable forest and thicket-lined habitats. Overall, between all the partnering organizations, 41 rabbits were released this year.

“The New England Cottontail is an example of a species that can be saved if enough people and organizations come together to help protect it,” said Scott Silver, Director and Curator of the WCS Queens Zoo. “We’re proud to be part of this amazing coalition of agencies and the Roger Williams Park Zoo, dedicated to conserving this ecologically important animal.”

Jim Breheny, WCS Executive Vice President and General Director of WCS Zoos and Aquarium, said, “In only a few short months, the Queens Zoo’s new New England Cottontail breeding program has proven successful. The WCS zoos and aquarium inspire people to value nature when they visit our facilities, but we also have a commitment to conservation through our extensive on-site breeding programs for both local and global species that are experiencing challenges in the wild.”

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Oregon Zoo’s 12-year Effort to Save Endangered Pygmy Rabbits

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The Oregon Zoo’s 12-year effort to save the endangered Columbia Basin Pygmy Rabbit drew to a close on July 19, when the zoo released its last 14 breeding rabbits and their offspring at the Sagebrush Flat Wildlife Area in eastern Washington. The Pygmy Rabbit is America’s smallest native rabbit, weighing less than one pound when fully grown, and is the country’s only burrow-digging and sagebrush-climbing rabbit. The shy species is dependent on sagebrush, which makes up the majority of its diet and grows in deep, loose soil, where the rabbits dig burrows.

“We’ve helped give these rabbits a chance for survival, and now it’s time to send them off into the world,” said Michael Illig, Oregon Zoo animal curator. “Our hope is that they’ll continue to breed and establish a stable population at Sagebrush Flat. A strong Pygmy Rabbit population there will keep the local community involved and help preserve the habitat.”

The recovery program ends on a high note for these federally endangered bunnies. Nearly 30 kits were born under the Oregon Zoo’s watch this year. The rabbits, currently housed at the zoo’s Jonsson Center for Wildlife Conservation in rural Clackamas County, are headed for a six-acre transitional enclosure at Sagebrush Flat that will acclimate the animals to their surroundings, encourage breeding and protect them from predators. Rabbits recently released from the enclosure have been tracked and are successfully living in the area — a good indication for future population growth, according to Illig.

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Photo Credit: Oregon Zoo

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Orphan Baby Bunny in Good Hands

ZooBorns' focus is squarely on baby animals at accredited zoos and aquariums. However from time to time we come across stories of orphaned wildlife that found its way to a nature sanctuary or rehabilitation facility. Such is the case with this tiny baby cottontail rabbit that was turned into the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center in Mystic, Connecticut. Its mother had been killed by a dog but luckily the baby was unharmed. Now in the hands of Wildlife Rescuers of Connecticut, the rabbit will be released back into the wild when it is old enough to fend for itself. Special thanks to Nikki Perkins for sharing her photos.

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Baby cottontail rabbit pequot nature center 1

Baby cottontail rabbit pequot nature center 1

Baby cottontail rabbit pequot nature center 1Photo credits: Nikki Perkins


Meet the World's Smallest Rabbit

Columbia Basin Pygmy Rabbits are the world's smallest and among the rarest. Native only to a single area of Washington State, this once isolated population of Pygmy rabbits usually weighs less than a pound in adulthood and was declared extinct in the wild in the '90s, after the remaining 14 bunnies were scooped up and taken into the equivalent of bunny protective custody.

This year the Oregon Zoo welcomed 26 of the little guys, bringing this year's total to 73 baby bunnies (kits) among participating breeding facilities. Color is added to the ears in the pictures below so zoo staff can tell the kits apart. 

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Unlike most rabbits, the Columbia Basin Pygmy Rabbit did not breed prodigously in captivity, partially due to inbreeding within the tiny wild population. As a result they were cross bred with Idaho Pygmy Rabbits and subsequent breeding efforts have been more successful. Learn more by clicking on "Continue reading..." below or at the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife.

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