Giant, Amphibious Rabbits Invade Illinois
Souther Illinois is under assault by giant rabbits that can swim and enjoy climbing up on things to defecate. Honest. Swamp rabbits are on the march. Or hop, as the case may be.
Although it sounds suspiciously like a fictitious character, the swamp rabbit is alive, and apparently, doing quite well in Southern Illinois.
While critters such as the swamp rabbit's cousin, the eastern cottontail, and the bobwhite quail are hurting because of habitat destruction, the swamp rabbit is holding its own thanks in part to wetland restoration in the region.
"They are kind of a unique animal," said John Cole, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources' agricultural and grassland wildlife manager. "They have real specific habitat requirements. They're common in openings in bottomland hardwood forests."
Southern Illinois is on the northern edge of the swamp rabbits range. They are primarily found in the Cache River basin and along feeder streams near the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. Cole said they have been found as far north as St. Louis and Lawrenceville.
Although not as common as they once were, the swamp rabbit seems to be holding its own. Habitat destruction was the primary reason for the decline.
"In the late 50s and early 60s they started clearing a lot of bottomland hardwoods and putting it in farmland," Cole said. "Rabbits are not a very mobile species. They kind of survived in little patches around Southern Illinois. They're a fairly common animal in Kentucky and Tennessee.
"They just evolved to inhabit wetland areas. They're adept at swimming. Their dietary habits are fairly similar to cottontails. One of the things they use for food that is kind of restricted to these areas is great cane. It's in the bamboo family. They feed on a wide array of plant material."
Although they closely resemble their cousin, the eastern cottontail, differences are marked.
"They're larger and darker in color," said Clay Nielsen, a wildlife ecologist at the Cooperative Wildlife Research Laboratory at Southern Illinois University. "If you had the two of them sitting next to each other, which would be highly unlikely, you'd be able to tell the difference in size and color."
And they like to deposit droppings on top of fallen logs in the swamps. Scientists speculate that that behavior is due to them wanting to mark territory. We rather suspect it has more to do with them wanting to keep their bottoms dry. But we strongly advise hikers in the area not to lie down, for obvious reasons.
By Chris, Monday, 2 July , 2007 @ 11:00 am
“Night of the Lepus” was prophecy, man!