European Rabbit

Introducida

A fast-breeding herbivore introduced to Berlenga, thought to have been brought in during the reign of King Afonso V, when the island was a royal hunting reserve. It occurs across nearly the whole island, densest on the sparsely vegetated plateau, eating almost every plant and leaving bare ground, while its burrows alter the soil and speed up erosion. It threatens the fragile island ecosystem and endemic plants such as the Berlengas fleabane.