On her walk to school through the soccer fields behind our house, my seventh-grader happened upon the partially devoured hind-end remains of what she extrapolates was once a full-sized rabbit. Ah, the circle of life. (But when will the circle be unbroken for the j. beetles, who are still flouting their Labor Day curfew?)
Aside from her lesson in the law of the jungle, our daughter is enjoying more pleasant lessons in her Computers class. She brought home her first quiz yesterday. The first word on the test: "blog". (She aced the test.)
I notice you have had an ongoing problem in your garden with rabbits. No Calicivirus where you live? In Australia it is rare to see a rabbit in many areas since this disease was introduced as a control measure.
Posted by: Jude | September 14, 2005 at 06:29 AM
"In Australia it is rare to see a rabbit in many areas since this disease was introduced as a control measure." This sounds awful to me. We have a lot of rabbits in our neighborhood, and enjoy watching them.
For some reason, there are three dead animals in close proximity on the route I drive my son to school. One is a red fox. The other two are unrecognizable. One must have died first; then the others got killed scavenging.
Anyway, sad to see.
Posted by: Julana | September 14, 2005 at 08:26 AM
Rabbits were introduced to Australia in 1788 and resulted in an ecological disaster. Rabbits stripped vegetation in arid zones, which are slow to recover, causing soil erosion. Native flora and fauna were overrun, some to extinction. "One eighth of all mammalian species in Australia are now extinct (rabbits are the most significant known factor), and the loss of plant species is unknown even at this time." (See link for more info.)
Posted by: M Sinclair Stevens | September 14, 2005 at 08:04 PM
That is fascinating. We have problems with the introduction of non-natives here, too-- plants and animals.
Posted by: Julana | September 16, 2005 at 03:20 PM