Have you ever thought how something as benign as a rabbit could become such an ecological nightmare? Let’s take a look at how their patterns of development became such an environmental problem in the Australian Outback.
Rabbits live in underground burrows among dense vegetation, which also provides their food source. They are well protected from predators in these burrows as they can quickly hide.
A female rabbit may have up to five litters of five to seven offspring per year. Although the life span of a rabbit in the wild is not lengthy (maybe two to five years), she is able to reproduce by six months of age. (And, remember, this is only ONE rabbit!)
In a good year, with limited predators (dingoes, foxes, cats), rabbits may reproduce by the thousands. In the Tanami Desert region, with limited vegetation in a normal year, native species of herbivores, like the Bilby, will starve.
Suggested activities: How many offspring can one female rabbit have in her lifetime? Compute the number of rabbits born per year per female rabbit. Imagine the total number of offspring produced per year by a rabbit population if there are 100 rabbits living within a one square kilometre area. If the square kilometre can support only 100 rabbits, what will be the effect of a growing rabbit population on the surrounding area?
April