Friday 21 October 2022

NOT JUST ONE RABBIT, SURELY


When you see a large amount of rabbit droppings, don't imagine it is all from one animal.  Rabbits tend to have communal latrines, where several bunnies poo in the same place.

They also have a rather unusual  (I think) habit called autocoprophagy.  As their grassy diet is so hard to digest, they eat their new droppings to process them a second time.  This is also practiced by hares and mountain gorillas, I have read.  


Unfortunately for those of us attempting to grow trees, they also strip tree bark.  This can turn out to be the reason why trees might have died, like this 3-year old juniper.

  

Rabbits bark-strip low down, hares a bit higher, deer even higher and squirrels high up.  Even horses and sheep will munch bark if there is not enough grazing available.   This oak has lost its main stem but is trying again from the root.   


But while there are rabbits around, however cute, it is quite hard to establish new trees.

Photo: unknown source





 

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