Longevity record for a wild European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) from South Australia
David E. Peacock A B and Ron G. Sinclair AA Animal and Plant Control Group, Department of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation, GPO Box 2834, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia.
B Corresponding author. Email: peacock.david@saugov.sa.gov.au
Australian Mammalogy 31(1) 65-66 https://doi.org/10.1071/AM08108
Submitted: 10 July 2008 Accepted: 1 January 2009 Published: 16 April 2009
Abstract
A population of European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) has been monitored since November 1996 through mark–recapture as part of a longitudinal epidemiological study into two Australian rabbit biocontrol agents, rabbit haemorrhagic disease (RHD) and myxomatosis. A female rabbit, first captured as a subadult in late November 1999, was recaptured 18 times before its final capture at the end of February 2007. The longevity of this rabbit, being from its calculated birth date to the date it was last captured, was 7.6 years. A review of the literature indicates this to be the longest lifespan recorded for a European rabbit in the wild.
Additional keywords: live-trap, mark–recapture, myxomatosis, RHD, survival.
Acknowledgements
This study has been funded by the South Australian Department of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation, the Australia New Zealand Rabbit Calicivirus Disease Monitoring and Surveillance Program and the National Feral Animal Control Program through the Natural Heritage Trust. John Kovaliski performed the viral antibody analyses. Lorenzo Capucci, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell’Emilia Romagna, Brescia, Italy, provided antibody reagents. Dr Heiko Rödel is thanked for providing longevity data and commenting on the manuscript. The South Australian Research and Development Institute allowed access to the Turretfield Research Centre. Research was approved under animal ethics permit AEC 09/03 from Primary Industries and Resources SA Animal Ethics Committee.
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