Category Archives: About Rabbits

Unholy trinity – rabbits, cats and foxes

In a recent contribution to The Conversation, Associate Professor Katherine Moseby (UNSW) refers to rabbits, cats and foxes as an unholy trinity. Rabbits competed with native mammals for food and became food themselves for cats and foxes – inflating predator numbers and adding to the predation of native mammals. Katherine has over 25 years of […]

Rabbits – ecosystem invaders

Rabbits and hares are the most widely spread herbivores in the Kosciuszko National Park, and are associated with less dense foliage, more bare ground and higher weed cover, according to a recent study published in Conservation Science and Practice. Rabbits were detected in 85% of study sites and over a wider range of elevations than […]

Feral cats rely on rabbits

Feral cats are more dependent on rabbits as prey than quolls are, and cats favour areas where rabbits are more common. Reducing rabbit numbers is a good bet if wanting to reduce feral cat numbers.

Rabbits – Ecosystem engineers

Rabbits change entire ecosystems from the bottom up, and a couple of recent articles provide great examples of this, demonstrating how interconnected our environment is. It all starts with rabbits eating native vegetation; often very selectively taking out seedlings of the tastiest species. They are so good at this that they can completely prevent the […]

Wildlife recovery rides on pest control

Wildlife re-introductions to managed reserves help demonstrate what the environment was like before rabbits and feral predators were introduced to Australia. They are signposts to how we might meet the even bigger challenge of replicating that success in much larger unfenced areas.