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Article: Notes on nesting and litter size of wild swamp rabbits (Sylvilagus aquaticus) in Louisiana. (Short Communication).
- Article from:
- The Proceedings of the Louisiana Academy of Sciences
- Article date:
- January 1, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 Louisiana Academy of Sciences. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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ABSTRACT--The swamp rabbit (Sylvilagus aquaticus) is one of the least studied North American lagomorphs, and little data on nest construction and litter size are available for wild populations. We examined six swamp rabbit nests and three litters in southeastern Louisiana from 1984 to 2000. Nests were oblong structures measuring 19.3 [+ or -] 1.7 (SD) cm long and 17.0 [+ or -] 2.1 cm wide consisting of dried vegetation, lined with fur, and often constructed in shallow excavations. Nests were found in a variety of natural and anthropogenic habitats. Mean litter size for Louisiana is 3.4 [+ or -] 1.5 (range=2 to 6).
Key words: Sylvilagus aquaticus, swamp rabbit, ...