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Black Wildie

What has owning a bun done to me? I see a few wildies near where I live and noticed a beautiful black one. I thought at first it was a lost pet, I never knew there were black wild rabbits but I think there is two in this family.

Now here is my worry, they are living part on public land and on the other side of a dry creek bed a horse paddock. I'm worried the owners will poison them as rabbits do did holes and horses / cattle do step in them and break legs. I don't even know why I'm worried about them, a year ago wild rabbits were a pest, not I'm worried about a wild family....... (I'm think i'm going mad)

I think it's a buck as he seems to keep watch over the others? (correct me if I'm wrong here) Part of me wants to catch him and protect him but I know it would be wrong to take him away from his family :-( He is a beautiful animal and carries himself with some pride!

Wildie.jpg
 
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I always thought our wild rabbits was usually browns and reds.
Maybe he's crossed with a domestic bun
 
There's definitely black wildies in this area too. I've seen some pictures of them in different light conditions (can't remember where but suspect it was at the lectures I attended) and in some light conditions they are massively easier to spot than the agouti coloured ones. ... guess that doesn't do much for their life expectancy :(
 
I love seeing black wildies. We have quite a few round here.

I believe they are leusistic. :)
 
I love seeing black wildies. We have quite a few round here.

I believe they are leusistic. :)

Leucistic is absence of pigment, or at least extremely reduced. (meaning the animal would usually have a higher amount of white). :D He's melanistic, which is presence of black, and (usually) absence of other colours.

Thanks for sharing Maddie & Alfie nibbles, it's always lovely to see different buns in the wild. Is it just me, or does he look like a hare around the head area!
 
Leucistic is absence of pigment, or at least extremely reduced. (meaning the animal would usually have a higher amount of white). :D He's melanistic, which is presence of black, and (usually) absence of other colours.

Thanks for sharing Maddie & Alfie nibbles, it's always lovely to see different buns in the wild. Is it just me, or does he look like a hare around the head area!

Ah yes! Silly me. I knew it was something like that!!
 
I only know cos I keep snakes of various different colour morphs/forms! Otherwise I think I'd have no idea :lol:
:lol:

We do have a leusistic crow around here. At first glance, he appears to be a magpie but isn't! It's weird. :thumb:
 
Those are fantastic photos. Well done.
What a handsome bun he/she is!

Yes, melanistic wildies are the commonest colour varient, & as pointed out before, much more prone to predation. (I stupidly thought they may be more camouflaged in deep dusk. Not a bit of it! The agouti's were invisable & the melanic still stood out. Having survived to become such a magnificent rabbit, he must have some very good survival instincts.

I understand your desire to protect him, but even when reared from tiny babies (as some have done on here) they've a different temperament from our pet buns - the "call of the wild". I think it's kinder to let him take his chances - long may he thrive.
 
When you think about it our rabbits here are decended from your English wild buns. Am i correct the head shape looks like some Rex buns I have seen pics of?
I can't get over how big their eyes are compared to my Alfie. I think there may be more than one black ones. I'm going to keep an eye on them :)
 
At a place I go birding there are about 4-5 black wildies. It does seem to be quite a common colour. It always surprises me to see them because that area is full of birds of prey like buzzards, harriers and even the odd Osprey in the Summer! They seem to survive well as they're all adults. They never come close enough for a pic, though.
 
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