The Wild Side

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Scientists recently discovered a relationship between rabbit genetics and “feralization” after researching how reintroducing the critters into the wild can have a devastating impact on the environment.

Feralization is known as the evolutionary process in which descendants of domestic animals that live in the wild lose the traits that helped them survive human environments and take on the characteristics suited for feral living.

In the case of rabbits, humans have bred them to become docile and have attractive coat colors, such as all-white or all-black. But despite becoming very trusting of humans, those fluffy bunnies carry a wild side.

Researchers at Texas A&M School of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences sequenced the DNA of nearly 300 rabbits in six populations in South America, Europe and Australia – all regions where the animals were introduced in the last 200 years.

Their findings showed that all the bunnies had a mix of wild and domesticated DNA.

“This was not what we had expected to find,” said co-author Leif Andersson. “We expected that feral rabbits were domestic rabbits that have somehow relearned how to live in the wild. But our findings show us that these rabbits already had a portion of wild DNA helping them survive in nature.”

Andersson and his colleagues explained that natural selection quickly results in the animals shedding their domesticated traits – such as tameness and coat colors – to adapt to the dangerous conditions in the wild.

This might explain Australia’s rabbit population problem for nearly two centuries.

“In 1859, an Englishman named Thomas Austin released 24 European rabbits onto his estate as game animals, but the population of rabbits exploded, causing an infestation that continues to cause millions of dollars’ worth of crop damage each year,” noted Andersson.

Current estimates indicate there are at least 150 million feral rabbits in Australia, leading to significant ecological and economic challenges, according to the Washington Post.

The authors suggested that the study highlight the consequences of releasing domestic animals into the wild.

They added that the findings can guide governments to make informed policies and conservation strategies to mitigate the impact of feral animals on ecosystems.