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Rabbits go
courting |
20.03.1999
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Michael Woods |
The antics of the brown
hare in the third month of the year are legendary, but what
about Mad March Rabbits? I have been watching rabbits in the
fields where they are clearly visible among the short growth
of winter cereals. They feed and even sunbathe in the late
winter sunshine, untroubled it seems by foxes and cats
padding past. Their courtship is less mad than slightly
dotty. As with hares, the buck rabbit chases the doe, but at
a sedate lope instead of a helter-skelter dash. Sometimes it
seems that the buck can hardly be bothered. He runs a few
yards then stops to feed. So it is easy for an unreceptive
doe to keep her distance. Eventually something causes her to
change her mind and the buck is allowed to catch up. It is
not much of a spectacle for the observer but it suffices to
ensure that the thinning of the rabbits' ranks since last
summer will soon be reversed.
To human sensibilities,
the mad part of the rabbit's courtship is that the buck
frequently urinates on the doe. As with the more familiar
example of dogs, rabbits use scent to leave messages about
their social status. The does' reaction to being treated
like a lamp-post ranges from retreat to active interest but
is accepted mostly with apparent indifference. It seems that
this behaviour functions as a token of the buck's interest
which helps bring the doe into a receptive condition, and
perhaps also deters other bucks from showing too keen an
interest.
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