Oryctolagus cuniculus
European rabbit

Oryctolagus cuniculus, also called a European, an Old World, or a domestic rabbit, is the only species in its genus. The last Ice Age confined the species to the Iberian peninsula and small areas of France and northwest Africa, but due to human action and adaptability of this species, European rabbits today exist in the wild on every continent except Asia and Antarctica. Domesticated O. cuniculus may be found worldwide. (Parker, 1990; Wilson and Reeder, 1993)

The preferred habitats of this species include dry areas near sea level with soft, sandy soil (for easy burrowing). Brushy fields are preferred for the cover they provide, but forests are also inhabited. Cultivated land was once well-suited, but this is no longer the case due to modern plowing techniques which destroy rabbit burrows. Particularly in central Europe, O. cuniculus has learned to coexist with humans in cities, making its home in parks and cemeteries as well as gardens and lawns. Human activities, particularly the spread of agriculture, have often inadvertently helped this species to colonize new areas. (Parker, 1990)

Wild O. cuniculus weigh between 1.5 and 2.5 kg, and are from 38 to 50 cm long. Domestic individuals may be larger. The coat is generally grayish, with black and brown (and sometimes red) sprinkled throughout. The underside of the body is paler gray, and the underside of the tail is white. Melanistic specimens are not unusual. (Macdonald, 1984)

This species (and rabbit species generally) have smaller ears and shorter, less powerful legs than their hares.

Oryctolagus cuniculus is the ancestor of all domestic rabbits (about 80 varieties!). Domesticated O. cuniculus vary tremendously in size, fur type, coloration, and general appearance. (Nowak, 1999) (Macdonald, 1984; Nowak, 1999)

Domestic rabbits can live to be up to nine years old. However, mortality during the first year of life in wild populations is generally quite high, and can reach as much as 90%. (Macdonald, 1984; Nowak, 1999)

European rabbits are gregarious, territorial animals. If soil conditions and forage supply permit, they prefer to live in groups in large, complex burrow systems (warrens). A typical colony consists of six to ten adults of both sexes. Colonies have distinct dominance hierarchies, which are particularly important for males, as dominance position determines which male will have preferential access to mates. A male's position in the social hierarchy means that potentially costly conflicts between males over females are rare. Territoriality is also most evident among dominant males during the breeding season. (Parker, 1990; Nowak, 1999) (Nowak, 1999; Parker, 1990)

Home Range

Home range size varies with population density and food abundance, but is usually under 50 acres and often as small as one or two acres. Males' home ranges are on average twice as large as those of females, and overlap with those of several females. (Parker, 1990) (Parker, 1990)

Oryctolagus cuniculus is generally nocturnal, spending its days underground and foraging from evening until morning. Though generally silent, rabbits are capable of making loud screams when frightened or injured. They communicate with each other through scent cues and touch, and thump their hindlimbs on the ground to warn of danger. (Nowak, 1999; Parker, 1990) (Nowak, 1999; Parker, 1990)

Oryctolagus cuniculus is a generalized herbivore, eating a diverse diet of grasses, leaves, buds, tree bark, and roots. Gardeners know them to eat lettuce, cabbage, root vegetables, and grains.

Although the diet is relatively low in nutritional value, and high in indigestible material, O. cuniculus is one of several rabbit species that are known to reingest feces (coprophagy) to obtain extra nourishment from their food. The species has a very large caecum, in which bacterial fermentation of otherwise indigestible material occurs. Periodically, the contents of the caecum are defecated and reingested. These rabbits are thought to depend upon this process for some essential nutrients, which are released or produced by bacteria and absorbed on this second pass through the digestive system. (Macdonald, 1984; Vaughan, 2000) (Macdonald, 1984; Vaughan, Ryan, and Czaplewski, 2000)

Rabbits are preyed upon by a wide variety of carnivores, including canines, felines, mustelids, hawks and owls.

Oryctolagus cuniculus has been highly successful in most places where it has been introduced, and it is considered an agricultural pest in many areas (especially where its natural predators have been eliminated). These animals eat cultivated crops and compete with domestic animals for forage. Millions of dollars are spent annually in countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Britain, and the United States in efforts to control, confine or exterminate them. Additionally, rabbits have inflicted enormous ecological damage in some areas where they have been introduced. (Macdonald, 1984; Nowak, 1999)

Old World rabbits represent one of the most economically important mammal species. Wild O. cuniculus is a popular game animal, especially in Europe. Varieties of this speces are raised commercially for meat, skins and wool, and are popular as pets. These rabbits are used extensively (.5 million/year) in medical research and for testing the safety of chemicals and consumer products. (Nowak, 1999; Banks, 1989) (Banks, 1989; Nowak, 1999)

Few mammal species are farther from extinction than O. cuniculus. Not only is it valuable to humans as a domestic and game animal, but wild populations have established themselves successfully in many parts of the world. However, one variety of O. cuniculus found on islands in the Atlantic and Mediterranean may be at risk. (Wilson & Reeder, 1993)

Due to its popularity as a game animal and a food source, O. cuniculus has been introduced by humans widely around the world. These animals spread through much of the Mediterranean world in Roman times, and through much of Europe during the Middle Ages. Domestication and selective breeding have been practiced for over 1000 years. During the Age of Exploration, rabbits were left on hundreds of islands as a food source for later voyages, often with devastating consequences for island ecologies. (Nowak, 1999)

The introduction of O. cuniculus into Australia has created an ongoing ecological case study. The first rabbits were brought to Australia in the late 1700s, but the "invasion" really began around 1850. By 1900 O. cuniculus in Australia numbered an estimated 20 million. Its range, limited only by lack of water, spanned 1600 km. These animals became a serious threat to agriculture, primarily by competing for food with sheep and cattle. Therefore, extensive (and generally unsuccessful) efforts to control them were undertaken, including the large-scale use of poison baits. (Parker, 1990) A problem of secondary poisoning of rabbit predators (themselves introduced) has been documented. (Heyward & Norbury, 1999)

The economic costs to agriculture are dwarfed, however, by the ecological cost to the indigenous Australian flora and fauna. Many native mammal species are at a competitive disadvantage to rabbits. A number of extinctions have been reported, with many other species in steep decline, though introduced predators have undoubtedly also played a role. Plant communities are also devastated by the voracious rabbits, and the denuded landscape is subject to increased erosion, further threatening native species through habitat destruction. (Parker, 1990; Nowak, 1999)

On the other hand, rabbits may provide benefits to some native species. Their burrowing loosens soil, which can be advantageous for certain plant and animal species, and abandoned burrows provide ready-made shelters. (Parker, 1990)

A new chapter in the war against rabbits began with the introduction of the disease myxomatosis into populations of O. cuniculus in the 1950s. Myxomatosis is caused by a virus endemic to South American rabbits, which have developed such a resistance that the disease has little effect on them. However, when European rabbits were first exposed to the virus, the effect was devastating. In some areas the rabbit population was virtually wiped out. Those rabbits that survived gradually became more resistant, but this immunity weakens over time in the absence of the virus. The result is that rabbit populations have been reduced, sometimes by more than 90%, and remaining populations are periodically ravaged by new epidemics of the virus. Myxomatosis has failed to eradicate rabbits, as many had hoped, but it has greatly diminished their numbers. (Heyward and Norbury, 1999; Macdonald, 1984; Nowak, 1999; Vaughan, Ryan, and Czaplewski, 2000)