# Wild rabbits mating with domestic rabbits



## ilovetegocalderon (Oct 9, 2006)

I was just curious to know if it was possiblefor a domesticated rabbit to produce a litter with a wildrabbit? (Please note: I'm not trying to attempt anything likethis I am just merely curious.) I just want to get an idea asto how different wild rabbits are from domesticated ones.Thanks.


----------



## ec (Oct 9, 2006)

I know others will able to provide more detail -but the short answer is, in N. America, no. They could mate, but theycan't reproduce - different number of chromosomes, etc.

In Europe, it's entirely possible for this to happen - kits - becausewild and domesticated rabbits are of the same species, _oryctolaguscunniculus_ [sp??].


----------



## Haley (Oct 9, 2006)

:yeahthat 

The cottontail and the domestic are capable of mating and the I believethe egg can actually be fertilized, but because of the different # ofchromosomes, it cant survive or attach to the uterine wall oranything...


----------



## NZminilops (Oct 9, 2006)

Quite interesting! Here it happens every now andthen, you'll see people advertising babies that are half wild and halfdomestic even though it's aillegal to sell a live wild rabbit or a babybred from one (for pet perposes). We only have the european rabbit hereas far as I know.

Where my partner works there are heaps of wild rabbits and they run inand out from under the timber piles all the time, he has seen a coupleof domestic bunnies there too that have gone pretty wild and I assumethey are all mating with eachother. It's weird seeing wild animals inan industrial area.


----------



## ilovetegocalderon (Oct 11, 2006)

Hmm, very interesting. Thank you all.


----------



## gentle giants (Oct 15, 2006)

Hmmm, I did not know that. I had a doe that gotloose a while bakc, and lived like a wild bunny (except for coming into eat the feed I was putting out for her, of course!) for somethinglike a month before I was able to catch her again. Here I was allparanoid about her coming back pregnant, guess I didn't need to worry!LOL


----------

