Rabbit Advocacy Animal Matters

Sound familiar? Rabbits multiply at Vancouver Island University

December 9, 2013 Darrell Bellaart Nanaimo Daily News

If you think more rabbits now nibble the Vancouver Island University campus lawn, you're not mistaken. Studies by biology students show a clear trend of upward population growth on the VIU grounds in Nanaimo.

VIU students started recording rabbit population data five years ago, amid rising concerns about urban wildlife, including an out-of-control rabbit problem on the University of Victoria campus. The studies give undergraduates a hands-on opportunity to conduct practical research, while compiling a body of data used to track populations in future.

 The study only looked at the upper two-thirds of the campus, and provides a rough estimate only, but there is enough data to show the rabbit population is definitely rising.

With the exception of 2010, the number of feral rabbits grew every year from, from about 50 in 2009 to 79 this year. "Whether it will continue to rise, or stabilize, and then fall down, we don't know," said Liz Gillis, resource management officer technology instructor, a co-supervisor of the study, with Eric Demers, with the biology faculty.

The rabbits are not native to Vancouver Island.

In 2010, UVic's rabbit population grew to 800, and the animals were trapped and sent to sanctuaries in the U.S., and Coombs The VIU studies provide a useful baseline, to prevent a similar situation in Nanaimo. Students observations suggest unlike UVic, VIU campus's close proximity to forest keep bunny populations in check. "There's no evidence at this point we'll ever hit the (same) huge densities," Gillis said.

Fourth-year biology student Erin Vekic has taken population studies a step further, using campus rabbits to test products designed to repel rabbits. Vekic divided the campus into seven areas, and in each area she created four, 50-centimetre-by-50-centimetre grids. She applies one of each of three rabbit repellents inside three of the four grids, then counts rabbit droppings to measure the effectiveness of the compounds. "If we find a deterrent that is effective, it will provide another management tool," Gillis said.

Note: Other estimates of the UVic rabbit population were put at around 1000. When the University announced it planned to exterminate them, people began removing them.

From the NDN Oct. 6, 2011 - VIU student study examines monthly rabbit population cycle trends over 10-month period No one is currently proposing a cull for VIU, and nor is it expected any time soon. Should the topic arise it would be useful to at least know how large the rabbit population is, for starters. "The fact is, we don't even know how many rabbits there are on campus," said Liz Gillis, faculty supervisor of VIU's resource management officers technology program. Gillis suggested the study to Megan Jenkins, who was looking for a topic for an ecological project earlier this year.