• Posted October 5, 2025

Breeding Program at Queens Zoo Helps Restore Vulnerable Rabbit Species

Fifteen young New England cottontail rabbits born at a New York City zoo have been released into the wild in Maine as part of an effort to save the only rabbit species native to New England from disappearing.

Six of the rabbits were released at Fort Foster Park in Kittery, while four others were set free at Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge nearby. Another five were introduced on Thacher Island, off the coast of Rockport.

Before their release, each rabbit was given flea and tick medicine and implanted with a tiny microchip for tracking in case they're captured.

“This release marks another important step in the ongoing recovery of the New England cottontail,” said Donna-Mae Butcher, assistant curator of animals at the Queens Zoo. “By working together with our partners, we are helping to ensure that this native rabbit has a future.”

The rabbits were bred behind the scenes at the zoo   in a special area designed to mimic natural courtship and nesting conditions. Females were able to choose their mates and raise their young in quiet, low-stress habitats. 

The young rabbits were kept away from people to make sure they stayed wild and ready to thrive on their own, researchers explained.

The babies, called kits, were born between May and June. By August, they were old enough to begin life in their new forest homes.

Since joining the New England Cottontail Breeding Program in 2016, the Queens Zoo has contributed 145 rabbits to recovery efforts across the region. Kits raised there have been released in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

“Our effort to breed these rabbits to help ensure they don’t go extinct shows the great value of zoos to the conservation of wildlife, especially for species facing extinction,” Nicole Schepis, a wild animal keeper at the Queens Zoo, said in a news release.

Once common across New England, the cottontail’s range has shrunk by more than 80% since the 1960s. The species has suffered from habitat loss as forests and shrub lands were cleared for development. 

It also faces competition from the eastern cottontail, a species that is better at surviving in fragmented or open landscapes, researchers said.

Protecting New England cottontails helps more than just one species — it supports a whole network of native animals that depend on the same dense forest habitats, including birds, small mammals and reptiles.

The zoo’s breeding program is part of a larger regional collaboration that includes the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Roger Williams Park Zoo in Rhode Island, state wildlife agencies in New York and New England, universities and private landowners. 

The Queens Zoo plans to continue its breeding work next spring when the rabbits’ natural mating season begins.

The New England cottontail (Sylvilagus transitionalis) is listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), meaning it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.

More information

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has more on the New England cottontail.

SOURCE: Wildlife Conservation Society, news release, Oct. 2, 2025