The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-09-28
RABBITS THAT EAT CRABS.
Queer Kind of Dummies That Inhabit
Lonely FaraIlOne Islands.


From the San Francisco Call.
Students of natural history are contin-
uaHy finding some strange habit develop
ed or partly developed in the animals of
California. The reason for this is that
there is such a variety of climate and con-
ditions within comparatively small area
that the creatures simply adapt them
selves to the locality in which they hap
pen to be- In no other part of the world
can one get such changes of temperature
with so little change in location altitude
as can be found between this city and San
Jose or Stockton. Nor can such radically
different islands be found so close to the
mainland as the made Farallones are
when compared to the coast of California
Such being the case, it is but natural
that the creatures living there should be
radically different from the rest of their
tribe in other parts of the world. But even
So it is hard to conceive of rabbits eating
raw fish. And yet that is what they do
on the Farallones. They have been seen
in the act, and should one be inclined to
doubt the word of the men who make the
statement there is no denying the fact
that there is nothing else for them to eat.
1t is also known that rabbits are big eat
ers, and If they were deprived of food
they would soon cease to exist.
To count all the rabbits on the Faral-
ZONES would be an endless task, and GER
tainly require at least six figures to ex-
press the number. They are there by the
thousands, and all seem healthy.
Even in the rainy season the islands are
almost devoid of vegetation, and such as
ii Is does not seem calculated to make
good eating even for rabbits. The plants
are very few and of slow growth. They
are also lacking in nouriShment, being or
.y~fof flir
even when the Islands are in their green
est there is not enough TO sustain one
tenth of the rabbits that live there.
The statements of the light-keepers and
egg-pickers are that the rabbits live on
the myriads of dead fish that are washed
ashore every day. They VIII eat any
kind although they seem to prefer she'll
fish to all others. At any hour of the day
the rabbits can be seen along the shore
hunting the rocks for food.
When the rabbits are eating the FISH
they look very much as they do when
they are eating cabbage, and nibble 1t In
the same way They do not seem to be
the least particular as to the condition or
the fish they are eating, and will make a
meal off one that has lain on the rocks
week just as soon as from one that has
just been washed ashore. 1t Is interesting
to know that the rabbits that live on the
F'arallones have contracted their present
as they are the descendants of tame rab-
bits that were brought there by the first
light house keeper They are not as pretty
as their ancestors. In fact, they have be-
come very lean and haggard-looking, ana
have much the appearance of half
starved coyote But the fact that they
have adapted themselves to their new
conditions is only another foundation for
the Darwinian theory. However. 1t might
be well to state that tame rabbits that
are raised with chickens have been known
to eat scraps Of meat and other refuse
from the kitchen.
A strange thing about the Farallone
rabbits that eat shellhsh Is that they
seem TO be struck by some sort of plague
about once year. At such times they viii
die by hundreds and on one occasion the
island was nearly depopulated. The sick
ness always come after the rainy season,
when the green feed is at its best. Pos
sibly mixing the decayed fish and green
food may be the cause of the trouble.