Oryctolagus cuniculus. Wabbits!!

Conchiolin · Post by **Conchiolin** » Mon Apr 02, 2007 10:35 am

Yesterday me and my bro decided to go "rabbbit hunting" NOT in the usual sense though. So we made this little camp made of wooden pellets that overlooked on a big area near dingli cliffs and observed this area using binoculars and i sat the whole night shivering in the cold waiting for some rabbit to pop out, with my digital.

This area was of particular interest since we found rabbit excrement and we found sort of pot-holes certainly (we could tell that from the rabbit crap) dug up by rabbits maybe to eat tubers or roots or onions. (I really have no idea!!).

And finally!! about 5 am we spotted one (with our binoculars) but it just crossed the area and the sighting only lasted a few seconds

. But i was very VERY satisfied and i'm sorry i couldn't take a photo.

Visibillity was superb ( full-moon) but it was a bit cold and windy you know, the dingli cliffs area)

What really pi##ed me off were the numbers of squeaking rats we heared! The next morning we went home with stiff with cold but a hell satisfied (at least i was).
Here are some pictures:

RB · Post by RB » Mon Apr 02, 2007 3:17 pm

I can not resist - your photos are sh*t

Apparti - Apparently the place to go to check out Bugs and Co is Comino - while I do not have first hand experience, plenty of "ornery" people (ie not the type to spend a night at Dingli Cliffs) who have walked around there have reported the place to be teeming with them.

Also apart from night time, midday in Summer is also supposed to offer a good chance to check'em out.

I think the digging and the sheeting is a way to mark territory, the digging in such prominent sites rarely goes beyond a couple of inches.

RB

wolf · Post by **wolf** » Mon Apr 02, 2007 9:33 pm

Conchiolin ...I am curious to know of your other "hobbies"

RB - nice jibe - I am positive Conchiolin was not offended

wolf

Post by **MWP admin** » Mon Apr 02, 2007 10:00 pm

You are really a wannabe naturalist! Comino is full of rabbits, but not very accessible right! So I suggest Gozo instead... There is a hill between victoria and Nadur known as in-Nuffara. While exploring the area last month, I saw a couple of rabbits roaming in the fields below, and one on the hill top.

It is a cool place to night camp, both for the 360o views and probably also literally

Conchiolin · Post by **Conchiolin** » Tue Apr 03, 2007 8:04 am

Unfortunately i'm not familiar that much with gozo so i don't think i'll camp there. Dingli cliffs is a very common option for hunters that want to kill some rabbits. Usually they hunt at night with those search lights.

So i decided to emulate their technique but with a little torch,binoculars and my digital and a hot coffe filled Dewar's Flask

.

So me and my bro spent a night sipping coffe and waiting for those rabbits to come out.

Hey wolf you mean i'm some kind of weirdo or something?

I just happen to know how to enjoy life that's all and like I said i am complicated.

You're so right MPW about that cool literally thing.
Should have heard those rats squeaking.

wolf · Post by **wolf** » Tue Apr 03, 2007 4:18 pm

no - no weirdo conchiolin
no offense meant of course .... my main hobby is to take long walks in places where i dont see a soul ( difficult I know but there are still a few places at least qabel jiftah l-istagun ) so yes I do understand especially when I meet so many people who have no idea of what else inhabits the islands apart from us homo sapiens ( sapiens is pushing it really .... )

wolf

Conchiolin · Post by **Conchiolin** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 5:10 pm

Not to worry wolf i was not offended

we're just discussing here right? Probably this week i will camp again and this time i will certainly camp more close to the rabbit habitats and camouflage my odour using some fennel or horse dung but i would prefer fennel.

I really want to take a photo of the rabbits. It's my mission to do so and i'm serious about this.

wolf · Post by **wolf** » Thu Apr 05, 2007 8:20 pm

conch - I saw a fair share of rabbit dung today at rdum ta qassisu next to paradise bay ...of course I was more interested in other stuff like good populations of gozo hyoseris / some really beautiful tamus communis and tiny polulations of coast sedum as well as some unidentified grass or small rush which I will probably post for id later

ps are you really 16 years old ? you sound much older ...er more mature than 16 - at sixteen i couldnt tell a cape sorrell from a marigold.....

wolf

Conchiolin · Post by **Conchiolin** » Thu Apr 05, 2007 9:05 pm

Hell yeah i'm a 16 year old. I have a soft spot for nature especially Maltese fauna and flora. Yep I admit it I am complicated!! I guess 16 year olds should be drinking beer, getting laid, make some noise, go to discos and not stop observing every plant and animal when they go hiking and not posting on this (BEAUTIFUL) website.

But i can't resist it i really love the Maltese Flora i always did. I've been running in the countryside and playing with mud since i was a little kid and i learnt to love nature. And in my opinion Malta is a multi-millionaire when it comes to fauna and flora (and even when it comes to history) but the thing is we don't appreciate it so i figured why not be a part of the solution so here i am posting about rabbit crap

and you know what if there are any teens reading this post I really recommend them to love nature not by neccesarily to join the site but to appreciate the beauty of Malta.

I will visit that place someday when i have the time though those O-Levels are making me sick.

and i really want a pic of those rabbits. If i am really lucky i maybe i will photograph the weasel (Mustela nivalis) since it hunts also at night so...........

Wow should write that speech in our school mag!! Hope nobody's crying !!

wolf · Post by **wolf** » Fri Apr 06, 2007 8:06 am

very well said and I appluad - you are right we are a wealthy nation in terms of natural heritage and in our vast majority we are completely blind to this - me I am an addict to nature as well ( perhaps you have read some previous posts of mine ) and I am completely gob-smacked at nature's cycle - how for instance nature in malta goes almost completely dead in summer and thn the first rains come and bingo narcis imwahhar is up and flowering in a week - complete magic !! I am also hopelessly addicted to wied incita and very recently I was incredibly pleased to find a new ( to me ) species there centranthus calcitrapae - not so common in fact though I have found it elsewhere including in the paradise bay area.

wolf

Conchiolin · Post by **Conchiolin** » Fri Apr 06, 2007 10:49 am

Yep i do read your posts Just yesterday i read a very VERY Interesting topic about Offroading and the 'Ghansar Ikhal' scilla sicula. I didn't even know such a plant existed and besides that is what i call a debate. (mhux ta bxejn gie viewed xi 600 darba!!) and believe it or not i got a positively different view of offroading.

Congratulations for your new discovery!

I'm really learning to appreciate more and more the Maltese flora here thanks to you guys like you wolf.

Thanks.

Conchiolin.

wolf · Post by **wolf** » Fri Apr 06, 2007 1:21 pm

can you please explain yoour very different view of offroading - this worries me a bit actually

wolf

Conchiolin · Post by **Conchiolin** » Fri Apr 06, 2007 4:02 pm

Sorry i didn't explain myself well in the last post i was in a hurry!! I meant to say that offroading is harmful to the environment but if it is practised in certain areas that areas example abandoned quarries as the MPW suggested it is a nice hobby and i was pleased that LR cared about nature and all (I thought offroaders were some rough guys that didn't give a damn about nature but apparently it's a different story.) My different impression was about those who practise the hobby not about the hobby itself.

Didn't mean to worry you! I do love nature.

wolf · Post by **wolf** » Fri Apr 06, 2007 8:29 pm

agreed - a week back on telly ( i think it was the awful smash ) i saw offroaders doing just that - trials or whatever its called in a disused quarry ( looked quite large in fact ) at a place called tas-saghtar or satrija in mosta. Quarry sure had plenty of hurdles and looked like people were having fun. I obviously cannot disprove of this at all - actually I was pleased and I hope these people do get three-four quarries or areas which are heavily disturbed to practice their sport

we've gone a bit far away from the subject of wabbits havent we but I enjoy sensible discussion anyway

wolf

LR · Post by LR » Sun Apr 08, 2007 8:38 am

wolf wrote:agreed - a week back on telly ( i think it was the awful smash ) i saw offroaders doing just that - trials or whatever its called in a disused quarry ( looked quite large in fact ) at a place called tas-saghtar or satrija in mosta. Quarry sure had plenty of hurdles and looked like people were having fun. I obviously cannot disprove of this at all - actually I was pleased and I hope these people do get three-four quarries or areas which are heavily disturbed to practice their sport

wolf

I wish as well that we could get three or four quarries ha nghidlek

LR · Post by LR » Sun Apr 08, 2007 8:58 am

Conchiolin

thanks for realising that not all people who offroad are a bloodthirsty mob.. In fact you will find a huge cross section of people from all walks of life (i do not mean to be classist or anything here). I myself am a graduate as are a number of friends of mine... It is just a way to enjoy the outdoors.. Wolf will frown at this but well in my case it is the truth...

and yes i would venture to say that many of my fellow comrades do care a lot about environmental issues, even with minor things like using bio diesel in their cars when possible.. unfortunately as with every hobby or activity you will find a black sheep.. these will fortunately be the minority however the damage that they do will be huge...

Just a bit of a warning.. you mentioned camping.. I myslef am a huge enthusiast and love to camp when possible.. That is when my landrover comes in handy in fact.. I can go camping in places where i do not find a million people camping next to me... However be careful where u camp.. technically camping is only permitted in certain sites.. I myself have been rudely awakened by the ALE at 7am because i was camping in Mizieb... a place please note reserved for hunters during the hunting season.. In fact i had to break camp and go somewhere else... Ifhem i am not going to argue with the police and around 20 hunters with guns definitely...

anyway sorry for the hijack to this thread...

happy easter to all and families...

wolf · Post by **wolf** » Sun Apr 08, 2007 3:44 pm

thought you'd be back LR at the first whiff of bio-diesel....ha ha
Well a happy Easter to you too mate - and I personally think getting three or four sites specifically for your practices is not all that difficult though of course there might be a price to pay - I wouldn't know ghax qatt ma krejt barriera ...but I remember about ten years back one of the major political parties held a party in a quarry so one or two quarries must be out for rent or whatever

good luck anyways

wolf

LR · Post by LR » Sun Apr 08, 2007 7:53 pm

well i am like a bad penny always turning up heheh..

well sometimes money is not the question in these matter... at this point in time a quarry is worth more when it is empty than when it is full... they dump waste in it at so much $$$$ per truckload, the exact price i do not know however i am assuming it is expensive if people prefer to dump waste outside in the open country...

but anyway i do not want to hijack this thread any further...