În 1418, un navigator portughez a eliberat o iepuroaică pe insula Porto Santo. Ce s-a găsit 443 de ani mai târziu

In 1418, a Portuguese fleet was diverted by a storm to an uninhabited island, later named Porto Santo. The introduction of rabbits by Bartolomeu Perestrelo in 1419 led to ecological changes, as the absence of natural predators allowed their population to explode. This overpopulation devastated agricultural lands and contributed to the degradation of native forests. Charles Darwin noted the unique characteristics of these rabbits in 1868, considering them an example of evolutionary change. However, later studies suggested they were a known subspecies from the Iberian Peninsula, not a new evolutionary form. Regardless, the ecological impact of their introduction was significant and long-lasting, marking an early example of the consequences of introducing mammals into non-native environments.