Hawaii’s European rabbit records point mostly to Maui, scattered from upcountry forest near Haleakalā National Park down to coastal wetlands. That’s a modest, patchy picture. This rabbit isn’t native to any Hawaiian island, and what shows up in the data are small colonies and escapees rather than a broad wild population.
Where European rabbits do take hold, they dig warrens with multiple burrow entrances and stay close to short grass and diggable soil, a very different life than Hawaii’s native ground-nesting birds lead. That colonial, burrow-based habit is exactly why the species became a documented threat on small offshore islets elsewhere in the state, where dense colonies stripped vegetation and undermined seabird burrows before removal efforts stepped in.
Records run year-round with scattered peaks in April, June, and October. With only a few dozen documented sightings statewide, that pattern reflects when observers happened to find a colony more than any real seasonal cycle in rabbit activity.
Full species profile
