Population size and home range of black-naped hares Lepus nigricollis nigricollis on Cousin Island (Seychelles, Indian Ocean) by D.A. KIRK 1 and G.M. BATHE 2 'Department of Zoology, University of Aberdeen, 2 Tilly drone Avenue, Aberdeen, Scotland, United Kingdom AB9 2TN international Council for Bird Preservation, Cousin Island, via Praslin Republic of Seychelles 'Present address : do Colleen Hyslop, Environment Canada, Canadian Wildlife Service, 3rd Floor, Place Vincent de Massey, 351 St. Joseph Blvd., Hull, Quebec, Canada K1A OH3 2 English Nature, Chancery House, Chancery Lane, London Summary. - Hares (Lepus spp.) often occur at high densities in populations on small ocea- nic islands. We assessed the population size of the introduced black-naped hare Lepus nigricollis nigricollis on Cousin Island (29 ha), Seychelles, Indian Ocean, during the dry season, using mark-recapture techniques. An estimated 128-170 hares occurred on the island, or a density of 4- 6 hares/ha. Home ranges of an adult male and female hare were 0.99 ha and 1.79 ha, respecti- vely. Leverets (hares < 0.6 kg) comprised 7.9 % of hares sighted during population counts. Based on sightings of leverets, hares probably breed in the wet and dry season. Resume. - Les populations de lievres (Lepus spp.) se retrouvent souvent en haute densite sur les petites iles oceaniques. Nous avons evalue l'importance de la population de lievres ä col- lier noir Lepus nigricollis nigricollis sur Tile de Cousin (29 ha), aux Seychelles, dans 1'ocean indien, pendant la saison seche, avec la methode de capture-recapture. On estime la population de lievres de Tile ä 128-170, soit une densite de 4 ä 6 lievres/ha. Le domaine d'un lievre male adulte et d'une femelle adulte etait de 0.99 ha et 1.79 ha, respectivement. Les levrauts (lievre < 0.6kg) represcniaicnt 7.9 % des lievres apergus durant le releve de la population. D'apres le decompte des levrauts, les lievres s'accouplent probablement pendant les Saisons pluvieuse et seche. INTRODUCTION Hares (Lepus spp.) often occur at high densities in populations on small temperate oceanic islands (e.g., Angerbjörn 1977, Häkkinen and Jokinen 1981, Lindlöf and Lem- nell 1981, Frylestam 1979). Among the factors proposed to account for this are the absence of predators, lack of dispersal (Krebs 1986), and the milder, shorter winters experienced on islands compared to the mainland (Häkkinen and Jokinen 1981). Howe- ver, little is known about populations of hares introduced to islands in the tropics. Mammalia, t. 58, n° 4, 1994 : 557 - 562. Brought to you by | University of Queensland - UQ Library Authenticated Download Date | 6/19/15 11:45 PM