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European Hares and Rabbits Showed Different Habitat Associations in New South Wales Forests

European hare sitting upright in grassland in Victoria, Australia
Research · Ecology

A study published in 2026 examined European hare (Lepus europaeus) and European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) occurrence in mesic forests of the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia. Researchers deployed 300 cameras across four study sites in Guy Fawkes River National Park and Oxley Wild Rivers National Park, producing 12,303 camera-trap nights.

Hares were recorded in 698 detection events on 99 cameras, while rabbits were recorded 163 times on 44 cameras. Estimated occupancy was higher for hares than for rabbits. Hare occupancy declined significantly as distance from non-native vegetation increased. Associations with elevation and topographic wetness were weaker and unclear. Rabbit occupancy showed the same directional decline with increasing distance from non-native vegetation and a negative association with elevation, but neither relationship was statistically significant.

Daily activity overlapped strongly despite habitat differences

Daily activity overlapped strongly despite habitat differences

The two species showed more than 80% overlap in their daily activity patterns. Estimated detection probability was about twice as high for hares as for rabbits, 0.170 versus 0.088. This helps explain why the authors caution that standard camera-trap protocols may not perform equally well for the two species. Habitat associations also varied among study sites.

The study provides a forest baseline for two introduced lagomorphs

The study provides a forest baseline for two introduced lagomorphs

The authors describe the results as a baseline for understanding the ecology of introduced hares and rabbits in Australian forest systems, where both species have been studied far less than in agricultural landscapes. They also note that monitoring methods may need to be tailored to the different detectability and behaviour of the two lagomorphs.

Sources and image credit

  1. Stone, R. L., Dorph, A., Heiniger, J., Bettega, J., Van der Eyk, J., Cherubin, R., Milne, H., Hine, A., & Ballard, G. (2026). Occupancy and habitat associations of European hares and rabbits in mesic forests of the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia. Wildlife Research, 53(3), 1–13. Article WR25093. https://doi.org/10.1071/WR25093Primary peer-reviewed research article published 16 March 2026. The study used 300 cameras and 12,303 camera-trap nights across two national parks in New South Wales to model occupancy and habitat associations of European hares and European rabbits.

Image: Mark Norman / Museums Victoria — European hare photographed in Victoria, Australia; representative Australian species image for the New South Wales forest-occupancy study, not an animal from the camera-trap survey; cropped to 16:9 · CC BY 4.0 · Source

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