
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, October 23, 1995                   TAG: 9510230095
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: BILL COCHRAN
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

VIRGINIA BUNNY BOOM CONTINUES

Give rabbits some good cover and they will do what rabbits do best - multiply. The 1990s have been a boom era for bunnies, and there is no slowing down this year

Surveys show that 1995 has seen a statewide increase in the rabbit population of 22 percent, said Mike Fies, the small game research biologist for the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.

The most impressive increased occurred in the Central Mountains area, where populations jumped by 37 percent, Fies said. In Southwest Virginia, the increase was 18 percent.

Mild winters are the reason behind the rapid growth, he said.

``It is part of my theory that rabbit production is related to the severity of winters; the amount of snow,'' he said. ``Part of the comeback recently is related to the fact that we have had a series of relatively mild winters. Occasionally we will get that big snowfall, but overall the winters have been very mild without a whole lot of snow.''

When you get an abundance of snow, the cover that provides food and protection for rabbits often is flattened, said Fies.

``I think the lack of snow prolongs the usefulness of cover,'' he said. ``That way, rabbits aren't concentrated as much. They aren't hit as hard by predators.''

The season is Nov. 6-Jan. 31. The limit is six per day.

by CNB