Tag: warren

#365daysofbiking It doe matter

October 27th – It’s nice to note the rabbit population on the dam at Chasewater seems to be booming again. They were here and down in the basin for years, but myxomatosis swept through a couple of years ago and the warrens dwindled to nothing.

Now, the bunnies are back and I watched this apparently elderly doe feed for a while. He companions scarpered, but she was made of sterner stuff, keeping an eye on me but not being distracted from cropping the turf.

Can’t help wondering what they might be doing for the structure of Chasewater’s largely earth dam, though…

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December 14th – Sadly, it seems myxomatosis has found the rabbit warren by the canal, just off Chase Road in Brownhills. This elderly rabbit can’t see and wasn’t aware of my presence, only moving when a couple of dogs came close. 

This awful disease sweeps through rabbit populations in waves; the last cases I saw were in Chorley, near Burntwood in 2011. The rabbit populations up there seem healthy and normal again.

It’s sad, but outbreaks like this are causing a gradual immunity to be selected in the rabbit population. In the meantime, I recommend anyone keeping pet rabbits in the locality makes sure they cannot come into contact with their wild brethren.

Let’s hope it passes soon.