A test of the recapture method of estimating the number of rabbits, Oryctolagus cuniculus (L.), in a warren

Abstract

The use of the recapture method for estimating the number of rabbits. Oryctolagus cuniculus (L.), in a single warren was tested. Infra-adult rabbits were trapped in box traps and smeuses and marked co~lspicuously and individually with numbered plastic disks. A series of sample counts of marked and unmarked rabbits was obtained by observation on each sampling occasion, and as these counts are not serially independent their treatment 1s discussed in detail. A test showed no significant difference between marked and unmarked rabbits in their tendency to disperse from the warren. An additional method of estimating population size from recapture data was used and confirmed the estimates from the usual recapture technique. Six estimates during the same week had a range of 1%-167 infra-adult rabbits, and digging out the warren indicated that about 122 were present.