Why is a domestic rabbit unable to breed with a wild cottontail?
Forgive my scientific ignorance. For a few years there has been a feral domestic rabbit frequenting my backyard. (photograph below) She is most likely an escapee or a released pet. She hangs out with the wild eastern cottontails.
Every bit of expert information says that wild and domestic rabbits cannot hybridize. Yet now I am seeing other black bunnies! Why can canines, bovines, felines, equines and bears interbreed (i.e. wolf/dog, polar/grizzly, lion/tiger, holstein/buffalo, etc.) but not rabbits?
Black Bunny 2
Usually, only animals within the same genus can interbreed – e.g. lions and tigers both belong to the genus Panthera, horses and donkeys to the genus Equus, etc. Domestic rabbits are descended from the European wild rabbit, Oryctolagus cuniculus. Eastern cottontails are a different species in a different genus, Sylvilagus floridanus. Whilst there are cases of inter-genus hybrids occurring, this is rare, and the offspring are invariably sterile. Melanism – an excess of dark pigment, causing an almost totally black coat – can occur in any species, so it’s possible the black rabbits you’re seeing are simply melanistic individuals.
On Horseback in the Eastern Sierras of California with Hidden Trails
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For vaccination of healthy horses against Eastern and Western Equine Encephalomyelitis and T…
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