Ex Situ Breeding Program with Wild-Caught Founders Provides the Source for Collaborative Effort to Augment Threatened New England Cottontail Populations

Abstract

As part of a science-based conservation strategy for the New England cottontail (NEC), Roger Williams Park Zoo (RWPZ), located in Providence, Rhode Island, participates in a NEC ex situ breeding program in partnership with the NEC Population Working Group. RWPZ’s role is to not only breed vulnerable cottontail rabbits for eventual release to bolster wild populations, but also to help foster research on a species that is hard to observe naturally. RWPZ was the first to breed this species in a zoological facility, playing a significant role in the survival of New England’s only native rabbit.