WARREN WARS

摘要

MEERKAT MANOR may have enthralled viewers with the engaging social behaviour of this southern African mongoose, but there is an equally entertaining animal soap opera taking place right on your doorstep. You could call it Rabbit Ranch. For 23 years, Ihave studied a natural rabbit population living on the campus of the University of East Anglia, and discovered startling insights into the complex social life of this perennial nursery pin-up. Since this study began, my team and I have attempted to id-tag every baby born into Rabbit Ranch as soon as it emerges from its underground nest at about 21 days old. This has enabled us to follow these youngsters over their potential nine-year lifespan - we keep watch from observation towers so we don't cause them any disturbance. However, sitting in a chilly hide in winter while the more sensible rabbits stay firmly put in the warmth of their underground burrows is not much fun, despite the presence of similarly vigilant kestrels perched on the hide roof aboveand the ever-hopeful diurnal foxes watching the rabbits' every move for their own reasons.