What makes wild rabbits drink?
Wild rabbits Oryctolagus cuniculus (L) introduced to Australia over a century ago successfully colonized diverse environments in a large part of the continent varying from arid desert, alps, to lush grasslands and coastline where water and salt may be either abundant or very scarce. Wild rabbits caught in Northern Victoria were studied under laboratory conditions, where they adapted to dry pelleted food and drank regularly water and a cafeteria of electrolyte solutions offered. Intracerebroventricular (IVT) infusion of angiotensin II (AII) in doses 10, 50 and 500 ng/h did not increase their water drinking, but increased salt appetite, although it was delayed one or more days after the beginning of AII infusion. IVT infusion of AII 500 ng/h for one day caused a halving in water intake and a tenfold increase in sodium excretion. These were followed by compensatory changes in water and 0.5 M NaCl intake on the consecutive days. IVT infusion of AII 50 ng/h for one day induced an increased
