Just a Rabbit? Not Quite.

At first glance, this may look like an ordinary moment in nature. However, these wild rabbits play a far more important role than meets the eye. They are helping to support the conservation of one of Europe’s most iconic birds of prey.

As part of ongoing LIFE EUROKITE project, our project partner AMUS has established fenced areas where wild rabbit populations can thrive safely. This approach is based on a simple but powerful idea: when rabbit populations are healthy, entire ecosystems benefit.

Wild rabbits are a key species in many European landscapes. By maintaining strong populations, they help to:

• provide a natural and sustainable prey source for red kites,
• enhance habitat diversity through their grazing and burrowing activities,
• support a wide range of insects and other wildlife species that depend on these dynamic habitats.

Conservation is not always about large or visible interventions. Often, it is about creating the right ecological conditions and allowing natural processes to take their course. In this case, supporting a single species helps strengthen the entire food web.