Written by Yal
General statement /classification
The European rabbit was introduced from Europe in 1858 to Australia. The rabbit’s scientific name is oryctolgas cuniculas. It has been widely spread across two thirds or 4.5 kilometres of the southern continent.
Description
The European rabbit has a pale white belly and is a blackish brownish colour. It has a weight of 1200 to 2200grams.
The rabbit likes to hang around grasslands and woodlands. Most rabbits never stay too far from humans.
Habitat
The European rabbit has taken over half of Australia.
Behaviour/habits
Rabbits are nocturnal and they always stay away from sun light.
Diet
The European rabbit sucks water from the leaves and mostly nibbles grain from farmers at night.
It has been estimated that there are 800 million European rabbits roaming around Australia. This means that the damage the rabbits have caused with our native flora and fauna is enormous. It has been, in central Australia. Two thirds of mammals have either been extinct or threatened. It has also been estimated that seventy percent of rodents have been extinct!
Control: to test or verify
Decreased: to go down number
Extinct: not to live
Fauna: animals
Flora: plants
Generations: time or period
Habitats: where you live
Nocturnal: to sleep at day
Poison: a deadly chemical
Rodents: a pest
The main problem is that they always steal grain from farmers around the globe and the farmers get really angry.
References
www.rubensanu.edu.au/student/project/rabbits/hist.gov
. www.national park @/nsw.gov.au/compoerd+graph
www.rudub.gov/rabbits/history.gov.edu.au