Rabbits
Rabbits originate from the western Lythia. They were introduced to the island of Hârn primarily by settlers bringing domesticated breeds with them to provide meat and fur. Rabbits are raised in caged areas primarily, but a fair number escape each spring. Rabbits can be found almost anywhere they can burrow. The most suitable areas are those where the burrow area and food supply are side-by-side, such as woodland edge and hedgerows. Open warrens are maintained where good burrowing conditions exist on areas of short grass, sand dunes, and even near villages. They are rarely found above the tree-line and avoid damp conditions and areas deep in conifer woodland.
The random network of tunnels, dens and bolt holes is known as a warren. Tunnelling is undertaken predominantly by the female. The depth of the burrows depends on the nature of the soil and the height of the water table. Large warrens usually imply a high population of rabbits.
Rabbits eat a wide range of plants including grasses, cereal crops, root vegetables and young shoots of meadow plants. They will eat tree bark especially when snow covers other food sources. Rabbits are normally nocturnal but will come out in daylight if undisturbed, especially during the long days of summer.
Social groups vary from a single pair to up to 30 rabbits using the same warren. Within large groups there is a distinct social hierarchy. The most dominant males, known as bucks, have priority of access to females, known as does. The most dominant does have access to the best nest sites. Bucks and does seldom fight with each other. There is heavy competition between does for nest sites. In groups with more than one female and more than one male, rabbits are not monogamous. Lower ranking rabbits may be forced to breed in single entrance breeding "stops" away from the main burrows where they and their young are more vulnerable to predators.
The breeding season is mainly from Morgat to August, starting later in the north of Hârn. Healthy females can produce one litter of 3-7 young per month during the season. The doe constructs a nest inside the burrow from grass bedding and lines it with soft fur from her chest and belly. The young, known as kittens, are born blind, deaf and almost hairless. Their eyes open at 10 days, they begin to appear at the burrow entrance at 18 days and are weaned within 21-25 days of birth.
Bucks are able to mate at 4 months, does at 3.5 months. Rabbits don't often live for more than 3 years. Over 90% die in the first year of life, most of these in the first three months. Young rabbits are preyed on by badgers, buzzards and weasels. Rabbits of all ages are taken by foxes, cats, stoats and polecats.
Common Rabbit
"Pika", "Cotton Tail"
Description: Long ears, short tailed, with long hind legs and grey or brown fur.
Height: 12-22 cm (5-9")
Length: 24-45 cm (10-18")
Tail: 1/4" (round, fluffy)
Hindpaw:
Weight: 7.25kg (16 lbs)
Sign: Spore to " in diameter. Four toed track with toes branching out from a central pad. Tracks are clustered with hindfeet following front feet.
Breeding: Can occur at any time of the year. Gestation period of 30days. Each litter is 5 to 8 kittens. Does can give birth again within a few months.
Range: 5 miles
Habitat: Prefers to live near water and crops or grasslands.
The Common Rabbit is not that common, being a relatively new settler to the island. A few farmers throughout the island have begun trying to breed the animal for its meat and fur with some success. Unfortunately numerous rabbits escape each year and their appearance among the hares in the wild has led to much confusion. Fortunately seeing a rabbit in the wild is still a rare thing.
The Common Rabbit is far more prolific than the Hare, as it has a breeding season that runs twice as long. Rabbits can raise up to five litters a year, but often only raises four. The animal is gregarious and prefers to live in societies of up to 100 individual does and bucks. Each rabbit has its own nest within a series of common rooms and inter-connecting tunnels, called a warren. It prefers to nest in hedgerows, thickets and bushes from which it ventures into the fields to feed at night, eating grasses and other plant foods. It possesses a placid and timid temperament.
They are the most widely hunted small game wherever they occur. Being smaller, slower and weaker than Hares has made them a preferred prey for most small to medium-sized hunters, including humans.
| Common Rabbit | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STR | 02 | EYE | 12 | INT | -- | MOB | 60 |
| END | 08 | HRG | 12 | AUR | 01 | DGE | 60 |
| DEX | -- | SMT | 12 | WIL | 08 | INI | 32 |
| AGL | 12 | TOU | -- | |
|
FR | 01 |
| SPD | 12 | VOI | -- | |
|
|
|
| Weapons: Kick 1B/65, Bite 2E/65 | |||||||
| Armor: Natural: B2 E2 P2 F2 S2 T2 (except. eyes) | |||||||
Farming Rabbits
Only one manner in 50 farms rabbits primarily because of the fairly large amount of space and time required.
Man-made warrens are really just dirt piled high up and surround with hedge, thorn or thistle bushes. Stone walls can be used to block off two of the four sides of the warren, but the ideal location for a man-made warren is in a rock depression, where stone is struck if you dig down too deep. Children are often employed to look for new tunnel exits up to 1/2 a mile away from the warren. If found, they are destroyed or plugged up. One local farmer in eastern Tharda recommends slaughtering a rabbit at the new exits to assure other rabbits will not use it.
A few farmers have built stone boxes, 5' to a side, and placed them 3-6' into the ground, in an attempt to keep the rabbits from burrowing out. Food is placed in central places, either at the preferred exit, or at the bottom of a stone or wood tube that runs to the lower level of the warren. Using the tube disturbs the rabbits the least, although some farmers use long-handled wooden shovels to push or carry the food deep into the warren.
To catch the rabbits within, a ferret is tied with a long string and then carefully allowed to enter. When the ferret catches a rabbit he must be immediately pulled out, less he refuse, damage the rabbit's pelt or eat the meat. Other methods, including bating traps around the warren are less successful than using ferrets, but they are equally less difficult.
Farmers regularly complain about the damage done to their crops by rabbit farms, and taxes and levies are often paid to surrounding villages and free-farmers to compensate for the damage. Such penalties usually result in 1/8-1/4 of the rabbits harvested, or profits therefrom.
Rabbit farms should also have a large supply of children on staff. Their job is to watch for new tunnels and warrens in the region. Tunnels leading too far out of the stone box, or other form of man-made warren should either be blocked, destroyed or cause the man-made warren to expand to help protect it from predators.
Many farmers fear that their rabbit population may not survive outside in the far north, or during harsh winters. They therefore keep a small number as breeding stock inside hutches. These are called Clapper Coneys.
Rabbit Range
Hares are found throughout most of north-western Lythia.
Common Lore
Although rabbits share a resemblance with the hare, there seems to be a
blurring if not a distinction between the folklore of the two. In some regions
like that of western Hârn, especially rural Rethem, the rabbit and hare
have the same dark lore surrounding them whereas in eastern Hârn and
parts of western continental Lythia the rabbit has far brighter qualities.
For example, rabbit fertility has not gone unnoticed and according to a well-known
treatise an early cult of Peoni regarded it to be one of the goddess'
favoured animals. This may have given rise to the tradition of fashioning
a girdle out of rabbit fur (at times blessed by the Peonian
clergy) and bestowing it upon a woman on her wedding day to ensure the arrival
of children. Once a large enough family has resulted, it is advised the girdle
be buried in a fallow field during the time of Yaelah.
Seeing A Rabbit
The sighting of a rabbit crossing in front of someone is said to foretell
much luck though the opposite will be true if seen crossing behind.
It is considered bad luck to kill a black rabbit, and a white rabbit near
one's home is a portent of death. The custom of uttering the phrase 'white
rabbit' on the first sighting of Yaelmor is considered a luck enhancing
deed, and it is also said to be effective in averting smoke from blowing in
one's face while sitting around a fire. Like the word 'hare',
seamen are loathed to speak the name 'rabbit' while at sea.
The Rabbit in Medicine
The grisly talisman of caring a rabbit's foot is a venerable practice possibly of Azerian origin. Specifically it must be the left hind leg that is carried and that it has to be given by another if the talisman is to work. Haleans are very fond of these items and many temples will offer specially blessed ones for a suitable donation. Poachers as well are partial to rabbit's feet amulets for it is believed to ward against detection and ensure fleetness of foot if discovered.
Medicinally, rabbit features in many remedies. Minced rabbit bollocks prepared with an infusion of the herbs Nodarha and Styphanor and then ingested is often prescribed for impotence. A formula involving the boiled ears can be found for use in hearing problems, while rabbit eyes feature in an ointment preparation for skin ulcerations."
On Hunting Rabbits
There are several ways to hunt rabbits. Snares and trap-lines are the most popular because they cause no damage to the hide. Slings and blunt-tipped arrows work equally well but while they require less patience, they do require more skill.
Dogs and ferrets are excellent at tracking and finding rabbits, but must be restrained less they damage the pelts and eat the meat. While ferrets are sometimes used in rabbit farming, most farmers prefer to set traps and lures.
The best lure for a rabbit is fresh-cut lettuce or other produce. When that is not available, dried succulents, berries, apples or pine nuts work equally well.
Unmarred white winter pelts fetch a higher price than grey or brown pelts, but the low price given for the winter meat makes the value of a rabbit almost static year round.
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June 8, 2002
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