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

DATE: MONDAY, October 17, 1994                   TAG: 9410200039
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B-7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: BILL COCHRAN
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

VIRGINIA RABBITS DOING WHAT THEY DO BEST

Beagle hounds should have plenty to bellow about this fall and winter when they hit rabbit cover. Bunnies have been doing what they do best - breeding - a fact that has put Virginia's rabbit population into high gear, especially in the southwest section of the state.

A Department of Game and Inland Fisheries survey reveals that the rabbit population is 13 percent higher than a year ago.

"We ought to have a real good rabbit year," said Mike Fies, the department's small game program manager.

The carry-over of rabbits from the winter to the spring breeding season appeared to be good, Fies said.

"We had a couple of storms, but overall the winter wasn't that bad," he said. In fact, one of the winter's toughest punches may have had a more positive than negative impact. The late-winter ice storm provided cover for rabbits in some areas.

The rabbit population, since 1988, has been strengthened by a string of mild winters followed by moist springs, Fies said. That means more rabbits survive the cold weather and come into a spring loaded with the kind of lush, green growth that provides food and cover to enhance breeding success.

Rabbits have been doing best in the southwest part of the state, from about Botetourt County westward to Lee County, Fies said.

Just why that is the case is open to discussion, he said. Most likely, rabbits are being impacted less in this region by land-use changes and modern farming techniques, he said. Bunnies do best on ill-kept farms that provide plenty of cover.

The season dates are Nov.7-Jan. 31.

by CNB