THE RABBIT 



young have been found aboveground, it is quite 

 likely that they may have been temporarily removed 

 by the parent from some source of danger, as, for 

 example, the flooding of the burrow by heavy rain. 

 Under such circumstances these animals will quickly 

 remove their young, carrying them one at a time in 

 the mouth, as a cat does her kittens. One of the 

 oddest places in which to find young rabbits, that we 

 can call to mind, was the body of a ' scarecrow.' It 

 had lain in a field, near Oakham, since the previous 

 autumn, and consisted of an old bag stuffed with 

 straw. Inside this, the following spring, were found 

 five young rabbits.' 



Although the regular breeding season with rabbits 

 is from February until September, does in young are 

 sometimes killed as late as November ^ ; but this is 

 not a common occurrence, and is perhaps to be attri- 

 buted to the prevalence at the time of very mild and 

 open weather. 



The practice of ferreting and shooting rabbits 

 after the close of the shooting season, say, after the 



^ Although many cases have been reported of hares going 

 to ground, generally when pursued and hard pressed, we are 

 not aware that any instance has been noted of a hare producing 

 young in a burrow. White hares constantly seek refuge in 

 rocks — that is, in holes under rocks and stones. 



2 The Field, December 14, 1889. 



