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Rabbit

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For other uses, see Rabbit (disambiguation).

Rabbit
Desert Cottontail (Sylvilagus audubonii)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Mammalia
Order:
Lagomorpha
Family:
Leporidae
Genera

Pentalagus
Bunolagus
Nesolagus
Romerolagus
Brachylagus
Sylvilagus
Oryctolagus
Poelagus

Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae, found in many parts of the world. They are sometimes affectionately known as bunnies, especially by children. There are seven different genera in the family classified as rabbits, including the European Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), cottontail rabbits (genus Sylvilagus; 13 species), and the Amami Rabbit (Pentalagus furnessi, an endangered species on Amami Oshima, Japan). There are many other species of rabbit, and these, along with cottontails, pikas and hares make up the Order Lagomorpha.

Hares

Main article: [[:hare]]

Rabbits are distinguished from the related hares in that they are altricial, having young that are born blind and hairless; many also live underground in burrows.

Male and female rabbits

A male rabbit is called a buck, and a female is called a doe. A baby rabbit is called a kit, which is short for kitten.

Size and weight

The bane of Australian farmers - the wild rabbit

Rabbits vary in size and weight. As lagomorphs, they have four incisors on their top jaw and two on the bottom jaw, that grow continuously throughout their life. This is distinct from rodents, which have two each on the top and bottom. Rabbits have long ears, large hind legs, and short fluffy tails. Rabbits move by hopping, using their long and powerful hind legs. To facilitate quick movement, rabbit hind feet have a thick padding of fur to dampen the shock of rapid hopping. Their 4 toes are long, and are webbed to keep them from spreading apart as they jump. They have 5 digits on their front paws. Depending on the species of the rabbit, one can reach a speed of 15-20 m/s (35-45 mph). Young rabbits appear to 'walk', instead of hopping.


Some species are well-known for digging networks of burrows, called warrens, where they spend most of their time when not feeding.

A Wild Rabbit sitting in the United States

Humans' relationship with rabbits

Humans' relationship with the European or ‘true’ rabbit was first recorded by the Phoenicians over 1,000 years BC, when they termed the Iberian Peninsula ‘i-shephan-im’ (literally, ‘the land of the rabbit’), which the Romans converted to the Latin form, Hispania, and hence the modern word Spain.

The European Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) is the only species of rabbit to be domesticated. All pet breeds of rabbits - such as dwarf lops, angoras, etc. - are of this species. However, rabbits and people interact in many different ways beyond domestication. Rabbits are an example of an animal which is treated as food, pet and pest by the same culture.

When used for food, rabbits are both hunted and raised for meat. Snares or guns along with dogs are usually employed when catching wild rabbits for food. In many areas rabbits are also raised for meat, a practice called cuniculture. Rabbit pelts are sometimes used as part of accessories, such as scarves. Rabbits are also very good producers of manure; their urine, being high in nitrogen, makes lemon trees very productive. Their milk may also be of great medicinal (see links below) or nutritional benefits due to its high protein content.

There are a number of health issues associated with the use of rabbits for meat, one of which is Tularemia or Rabbit Fever. Another is so-called rabbit starvation, due to either the low fat content of rabbit meat or amino acid deficiencies in rabbit meat and synthesis limitations in human beings.

Domestic rabbits

Provided they are well cared for, rabbits make friendly and playful pets. They are widely kept throughout the world, both indoors and out. Rabbits kept indoors are typically healthier and more social than rabbits kept outdoors. Housed indoors and provided with adequate damage-proofing (especially of electrical cables), rabbits are relatively safe from predators, disease, and temperature extremes. Rabbits kept outdoors must be provided with shelter that is heated in winter and shaded in summer. Domesticated rabbits are most comfortable in temperatures between 10 to 21 degrees Celsius (50 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit), and cannot endure temperatures above 32 degrees Celsius (90 degrees Fahrenheit). Veterinarians specializing in rabbits recommend a diet consisting of hay, leafy green vegetables, water, and small amounts of pellets.

Rabbits are crepuscular, meaning they are most active at dawn and dusk; rabbit owners find that these times correspond nicely with their working days. As prey animals, rabbits behave differently from predator companion animals such as cats and dogs. For example, they have lower 'running expenses', and do not tolerate games of chase. Although well known for hopping, rabbits' spines are inflexible and delicate and they dislike being handled. For these reasons, they are better suited for older teens and adults than for children.

The domestic rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) originated from the European wild rabbit.

Environmental problems with rabbits

Rabbits have also been a source of environmental problems when introduced into the wild by humans (see Rabbits in Australia for details of it as a pest species in that country). Because of their appetites, and the rate at which they breed, wild rabbit depredation can prove problematic for agriculture. Gassing, barriers (fences), shooting, snaring and ferreting have been used to control rabbit populations, but the most effective is diseases such as myxomatosis ('myxo' for short), and calicivirus. In Europe, where rabbits are farmed on a large scale, they are protected against myxomatosis and calicivirus with a genetically modified virus. The virus was developed in Spain, and is beneficial to rabbit farmers. If it were to make its way into wild populations in areas such as Australia, this could create a population boom, since those diseases are the major threats to the rabbits' survival.

Classification

Rabbits and hares were formerly classified in the order Rodentia until 1912, when they were moved into a new order Lagomorpha. This order, in addition to containing rabbits and hares, also includes the pikas.

ORDER LAGOMORPHA

Rabbits in culture and literature

Rabbits are often used as a symbol of fertility. It is possibly as a consequence of this that they have been associated with Easter as the Easter Bunny. The species' role as a prey animal also lends itself as a symbol of innocence as an animal that seems to wish harm on no one, another Easter connotation. In addition, the animal is often used as a symbol of playful sexuality, which plays off of its perceived image of innocence, as well as its reputation as a prolific breeder

Further information: Playboy Bunny

It is also a common folklore archetype of the trickster who uses his cunning to outwit his enemies. The most common example of this is Br'er Rabbit from African-American folktales; by extension the Warner Brothers cartoon character Bugs Bunny also typifies this image.

Anthropomorphic rabbits have appeared in a host of works of film and literature, most notably the White Rabbit in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland; in the popular novel Watership Down, by Richard Adams; and in Beatrix Potter's works such as Peter Rabbit. They aslo play a minor roles in the Redwall series by British author Brian Jaques. Rabbits have also appeared in Monty Python's Holy Grail, where the Beast of Caer Bannog, seemingly an innocuous white rabbit, guarded the cave to the Holy Grail.

It is commonly believed that a rabbit, if injected with a woman's urine, will expire if the woman were pregnant. This is not true. However, in the 1920s it was discovered that if the injected urine contained the hormone hCG, a hormone found in the urine of pregnant women, the rabbit would display ovarian changes. The rabbit would indeed need to be killed to have its ovaries inspected, but the death of the rabbit was not the indicator of the results. Later revisions of the test allowed technicians to inspect the ovaries without euthanizing the rabbit.

There is a rabbit among the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac.

Further information: Rabbit (Zodiac)

Rabbit feet are considered lucky and fake rabbit feet are often sold as cheap trinkets. It also often leads to the humorous note that the rabbit itself was not lucky to lose them.

In Japanese tradition, rabbits live on the Moon where they make mochi - the popular snack of mashed sticky rice. This comes from interpreting the pattern of dark patches on the moon as a rabbit standing on tiptoes on the left working something like a butter churn. A pop culture manifestation of this tradition can be found in the character known as Sailor Moon, whose name is Usagi, Japanese for "rabbit". In Chinese literature, rabbits also accompany Chang'e on the Moon.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rabbit.
Wikibooks Cookbook has a recipe/module on
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