When European explorers first set foot on Australia, there wasn’t a single rabbit on that continent.
Yet within two centuries, rabbits abounded in Australia to such an extent that Australia was the world’s number-one producer of rabbit pelts, and was desperately trying to stamp out the creatures.
Rabbits were introduced in Australia around 1860. These animals reproduce very rapidly. A single rabbit can give birth as many as eight times a Year!
In Australia, the rabbits multiplied so quickly that they stripped arid regions of their grasses and turned them into sandy deserts. Because rabbits provide food for the dingo, the wild Australian dog, the increase in rabbits led to an increase in dingoes that threatened the great flocks of sheep in Australia.
In 1950, scientists began to use a virus to control the rabbit population in Australia. Within five years, their numbers had been reduced by 90 percent.
But so had the production of rabbit pelts. At one time. Australia had produced some 70 million rabbit skins a year!
Related Posts
-
How Did Australia Get Its Name, What Does Australia Mean In Latin, and Is Australia Part of the United Kingdom?
Australia hasn't been part of the United Kingdom since 1901, when its six colonies formed the Commonwealth of Australia. Like New Zealand, it is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, an organization…
-
How Did Eggs and Rabbits Become Associated with the Celebration of Easter?
Easter began as the most joyous of Christian holidays to celebrate the rebirth of Christ. Since Easter comes at the same time as spring, when new life begins with growth and rebirth in…
-
How did the Nutria become a Pest in Louisiana and why do they Eat the Swamp Rat which was bred for Fur?
Rural Louisianans have trapped and eaten the nutria, an orange-toothed rodent that inhabits Louisiana swampland, since its introduction to the bayous in the 1930s. Now the state government is encouraging nutria's role as…
-
How Far Away Is Australia From the United States and How Did Australia Get Its Name?
Australia is about 7,000 miles southwest from North America, lying between the South Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean. A commercial airplane flight to Australia's largest city, Sydney, takes more than 14 hours…
-
When Was Australia a British Prison Colony and How Many Convicts Did the British Send To Australia?
Australia was originally a British prison colony. Beginning in the late 1700s, the United Kingdom sent convicted criminals to this faraway territory. Until that time, the British had been sending convicts to their…
-
How Many People Live In Australia and How Many People Who Live In Australia Are Immigrants?
It is estimated that about 22 million people live in Australia in 2010. Australia's population has more than doubled since 1950, and most of that increase has been due to immigration. One of…
