Abstract
REPORTS of recent experiments by Madsen1 and Eden2 have shown refection to be a normal physiological process in the laboratory rabbit. A few observations collected by me, while studying the ecology and population dynamics of the wild rabbit, suggest that this process also occurs in natural conditions. From Eden's experiments, 54–82 per cent of fæces passed are shown to be normally refected, the advantage of the process to the rabbit being equivalent to "chewing the cud". It is possible that there is a further ecological advantage, which operates under wild conditions.
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References
Madsen, H., "Does the Rabbit Chew the Cud?" NATURE, 143, 981 (1939).
Eden, A., "Coprophagy in the Rabbit", NATURE, 145, 36 (1940).
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SOUTHERN, H. Coprophagy in the Wild Rabbit. Nature 145, 262 (1940). https://doi.org/10.1038/145262a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/145262a0
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