The New England cottontail rabbits are declining in number. Only 300 animals are remaining in a small range in the southern end of Maine. The state and conservationists have felt the urgent need to restore and save them. And efforts are already under way to increase their numbers. They are effectively trying to preserve the rabbits’ habitat.
But, what led to their decline? Blame development pressures, which have claimed the farm fields filled with shrub – and this is where the rabbits live! A yet to be approved draft plan demands Maine to have 18 core habitats of at least 25 acres each for the rabbits, but it is by 2016. Hope the little vulnerable creatures survive through this long 10 more years…!
Via: Environmental News Network