Stem 1 ______
Stem 2 ______
Stem 3 ______
Stem 4 ______
Wolves vs. Rabbits
Name: ___________
Predator Prey Relationship Game
HR: _______
Date:__________
Objective: To investigate how populations are affected by predator-prey relationships over
several generations.
Materials:
 60, 6 x 6cm squares cut from red paper – the WOLVES
 400, 2 x 2cm squares cut from yellow paper – the RABBITS
 One sheet of green paper (approx.. 43 x 28cm) – the MEADOW
 Graph paper
Procedure:
 The rabbit managers add active rabbits by spreading them evenly in the meadow and
remove rabbits when they are caught.
 The wolf managers throw active wolf cards and add or remove wolves from the meadow.
 All animals that are removed from the meadow are placed back into the reserve stacks.
The Rules:
1. To start the game, the rabbit managers distribute THREE rabbits evenly on the meadow.
2. The wolf managers toss ONE active wolf square into the meadow in an effort to catch
rabbits. The wolf must leave the managers hand outside the meadow area.
3. If the wolf square lands on or touches a rabbit square, the rabbit is considered “caught”
(dead), and the rabbit manager removes the caught rabbit.
4. After the caught rabbits are removed, the remaining rabbits get to reproduce (double).
5. Any wolf that catches less than three rabbits has starved to death and is removed by
the wolf manager.
6. If there are no surviving wolves, a new round is begun with a new wolf, which immigrates
into the meadow, and double the number of rabbits left at the end of the last round.
7. If a wolf catches three rabbits, the wolf is allowed to reproduce (Add another wolf).
8. For every three rabbits a wolf catches it is allowed to have one pup. It will rarely
reproduce more than one pup.
Data: Record the number of wolves and rabbits for each generation. Once you see the rabbit
population have a huge increase, and a huge decrease (down to almost nothing), YOU MAY STOP.
Generation 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
Wolves
Rabbits
Generation 15
Wolves
Rabbits
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
Results: Use the data table above to make a ***GRAPH*** of the data. What kind of graph is
best for showing changes over time? Use different colours to show the wolf and rabbit
populations (you will need a legend!).
Observations:
1. How do you explain what happened in the first round?
2. Look at your graph for the two populations. How are the wolf and rabbit populations related
to each other?
3. What do you think would happen if you introduced another predator, such as a coyote? What
would happen to the rabbits? What would happen to the wolves?
Applications:
4. How does this simulation relate to the human population and its interaction with its
environment? Are there any predator-prey relationships?
5. What predator-prey relationships have you observed in your neighbourhood?
6. If a population biologist visited your classroom, what are some questions you might ask?
(Hint: do you think humans would impact other populations? What about our population?)