Few domesticated animals have flourished as well as rabbits have when reintroduced into the wild—a phenomenon that has often had economic and ecological consequences. And now a team of researchers has figured out why rabbits have had such success readapting to nature. In a study published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution on June 21, researchers worked to determine what factors make the furry critters such masterful colonizers of countries around the world. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Generally, it’s difficult for a domestic animal to survive in the wild, according to a press release about the study from Sweden’s Uppsala University, where one of the study’s senior authors, Leif Andersson, works.