Vo 1. 10, No. 10 
Page 4 
6. Rabb i t Management J. A. 3ailey, J. C. Hanson 
The numbers of cottontail rabbits captured in wooden box traps on the 
Allerton Park 4-H Area have always varied considerably among days within the 
10-day trapping periods. Data from monthly trapping periods conducted 
during September through March in 1964-65 and 1965-66 were analyzed for 
correlations between trap success and weather factors. It was assumed that 
approximately the same number of rabbits was available to be trapped through¬ 
out each 10-day period and that deviations from the average number of 
rabbits captured per day during each trapping period could be related to 
weather factors. Trap success for each day was therefore expressed as a 
deviation from the appropriate trapping-period mean. Data on nine weather 
factors were obtained from records of the Illinois Water Survey, 25 miles 
from the study area. Linear correlation analysis was used to evaluate 
relationships between deviations in trap success and each weather factor. 
Trap success was significantly correlated with high midnight barometer 
readings, little wind, and absence of precipitation, and tended to be 
higher during the cooler days of trapping periods than during the warmer days. 
High barometer readings, calm winds, clear skies, and cool temperatures are 
generally associated, and it is concluded that rabbits become more trappable 
during weather conditions which prevail within high-pressure air masses. 
However, the utility of this conclusion is limited. An analysis of trap 
success, with midnight barometer reading, wind, occurrence of precipitation, 
and minimum temperature as independent variables, produced a multiple 
correlation coefficient of 0-355- The resulting coefficient of determination 
indicates that only 13 percent of the variation among numbers of rabbits 
captured has been associated with these four weather factors. 
