fbpx
Wikipedia

Rabbit

April 11, 2024

"Bunny" redirects here. For other uses, see Bunny (disambiguation) and Rabbit (disambiguation).

Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also includes the hares), which is in the order Lagomorpha (which also includes the pikas). Oryctolagus cuniculus is the European rabbit, including its descendants, the world's 305 breeds[1] of domestic rabbit. Sylvilagus includes 13 wild rabbit species, among them the seven types of cottontail. The European rabbit, which has been introduced on every continent except Antarctica, is familiar throughout the world as a wild prey animal, a domesticated form of livestock and a pet. With its widespread effect on ecologies and cultures, in many areas of the world, the rabbit is a part of daily life – as food, clothing, a companion, and a source of artistic inspiration.

Rabbit
Temporal range: Late Eocene – Holocene, 53–0 Ma
European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus)
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Lagomorpha
Family: Leporidae
Included genera

Although once considered rodents, lagomorphs diverged earlier and have a number of traits rodents lack, including two extra incisors.

Terminology and etymology

A male rabbit is called a buck; a female is called a doe. An older term for an adult rabbit used until the 18th century is coney (derived ultimately from the Latin cuniculus), while rabbit once referred only to the young animals.[2] Another term for a young rabbit is bunny, though this term is often applied informally (particularly by children) to rabbits generally, especially domestic ones. More recently, the term kit or kitten has been used to refer to a young rabbit.

A group of rabbits is known as a colony or nest (or, occasionally, a warren, though this more commonly refers to where the rabbits live).[3] A group of baby rabbits produced from a single mating is referred to as a litter[4] and a group of domestic rabbits living together is sometimes called a herd.[5]

The word rabbit itself derives from the Middle English rabet, a borrowing from the Walloon robète, which was a diminutive of the French or Middle Dutch robbe.[6]

Taxonomy

See also: List of leporids

Rabbits and hares were formerly classified in the order Rodentia (rodent) until 1912, when they were moved into a new order, Lagomorpha (which also includes pikas). Below are some of the genera and species of the rabbit.

  •  
    Brachylagus idahoensis
    Pygmy rabbit
  •  
    Nesolagus netscheri
    Sumatran striped rabbit
    (Model)
  •  
    Oryctolagus cuniculus
    European rabbit
    (Feral Tasmanian specimen)
  •  
    Pentalagus furnessi
    Amami rabbit
    (Taxidermy specimen)
  •  
    Romerolagus diazi
    Volcano rabbit
    (Taxidermy specimen)
  •  
    Sylvilagus aquaticus
    Swamp rabbit
    (Juvenile)
  •  
    Sylvilagus audubonii
    Desert cottontail
  •  
    Sylvilagus bachmani
    Brush rabbit
  •  
    Sylvilagus brasiliensis
    Tapeti
    (Taxidermy specimen)
  •  
    Sylvilagus floridanus
    Eastern cottontail

Differences from hares

Main article: Hare
 
Hare
Johann Daniel Meyer (1748)
 
Rabbit
Johann Daniel Meyer (1748)

The term rabbit is typically used for all Leporidae species excluding the genus Lepus. Members of that genus are instead known as hares or jackrabbits.

Lepus species are precocial, born relatively mature and mobile with hair and good vision, while rabbit species are altricial, born hairless and blind. Hares and some rabbits live a relatively solitary life in a simple nest above the ground, while other rabbits live in social groups in burrows, which are grouped together to form warrens. Hares are generally larger than rabbits, with ears that are more elongated, and with hind legs that are larger and longer. Descendants of the European rabbit are commonly bred as livestock and kept as pets, whereas no hares have been domesticated – the breed called the Belgian hare is actually a domestic rabbit which has been selectively bred to resemble a hare.

Domestication

Main article: Domestic rabbit

Rabbits have long been domesticated. The European rabbit has been widely kept as livestock, starting in ancient Rome. Selective breeding, which began in the Middle Ages, has generated a wide variety of rabbit breeds, of which many (since the early 19th century) are also kept as pets.[7] Some strains of rabbit have been bred specifically as research subjects.

As livestock, rabbits are bred for their meat and fur. The earliest breeds were important sources of meat, and so became larger than wild rabbits, but domestic rabbits in modern times range in size from dwarf to giant. Rabbit fur, prized for its softness, can be found in a broad range of coat colors and patterns, as well as lengths. The Angora rabbit breed, for example, was developed for its long, silky fur, which is often hand-spun into yarn. Other domestic rabbit breeds have been developed primarily for the commercial fur trade, including the Rex, which has a short plush coat.

Biology

 
Wax models showing the development of the rabbit heart

Evolution

Because the rabbit's epiglottis is engaged over the soft palate except when swallowing, the rabbit is an obligate nasal breather. Rabbits have two sets of incisor teeth, one behind the other. This way they can be distinguished from rodents, with which they are often confused.[8] Another difference is that for rabbits, all of their teeth continue to grow, where as for most rodents, only their incisors continue to grow. Carl Linnaeus originally grouped rabbits and rodents under the class Glires; later, they were separated as the scientific consensus is that many of their similarities were a result of convergent evolution. Recent DNA analysis and the discovery of a common ancestor has supported the view that they share a common lineage, so rabbits and rodents are now often grouped together in the superorder Glires.[9]

Morphology

 
Skeleton of the rabbit

Since speed and agility are a rabbit's main defenses against predators (including the swift fox), rabbits have large hind leg bones and well-developed musculature. Though plantigrade at rest, rabbits are on their toes while running, assuming a more digitigrade posture. Rabbits use their strong claws for digging and (along with their teeth) for defense.[10] Each front foot has four toes plus a dewclaw. Each hind foot has four toes (but no dewclaw).[11]

 
Melanistic coloring
Oryctologus cuniculus
European rabbit (wild)

Most wild rabbits (especially compared to hares) have relatively full, egg-shaped bodies. The soft coat of the wild rabbit is agouti in coloration (or, rarely, melanistic), which aids in camouflage. The tail of the rabbit (with the exception of the cottontail species) is dark on top and white below. Cottontails have white on the top of their tails.[12]

As a result of the position of the eyes in its skull, the rabbit has a field of vision that encompasses nearly 360 degrees, with just a small blind spot at the bridge of the nose.[13]

Hind limb elements

 
This image comes from a specimen in the Pacific Lutheran University natural history collection. It displays all of the skeletal articulations of rabbit's hind limbs.

The anatomy of rabbits' hind limbs is structurally similar to that of other land mammals and contributes to their specialized form of locomotion. The bones of the hind limbs consist of long bones (the femur, tibia, fibula, and phalanges) as well as short bones (the tarsals). These bones are created through endochondral ossification during development. Like most land mammals, the round head of the femur articulates with the acetabulum of the os coxae. The femur articulates with the tibia, but not the fibula, which is fused to the tibia. The tibia and fibula articulate with the tarsals of the pes, commonly called the foot. The hind limbs of the rabbit are longer than the front limbs. This allows them to produce their hopping form of locomotion. Longer hind limbs are more capable of producing faster speeds. Hares, which have longer legs than cottontail rabbits, are able to move considerably faster.[14] Rabbits stay just on their toes when moving; this is called digitigrade locomotion. The hind feet have four long toes that allow for this and are webbed to prevent them from spreading when hopping.[15] Rabbits do not have paw pads on their feet like most other animals that use digitigrade locomotion. Instead, they have coarse compressed hair that offers protection.[16]

Musculature

 
The rabbit's hind limb (lateral view) includes muscles involved in the quadriceps and hamstrings.

Rabbits have muscled hind legs that allow for maximum force, maneuverability, and acceleration that is divided into three main parts: foot, thigh, and leg. The hind limbs of a rabbit are an exaggerated feature. They are much longer than the forelimbs, providing more force. Rabbits run on their toes to gain the optimal stride during locomotion. The force put out by the hind limbs is contributed by both the structural anatomy of the fusion tibia and fibula, and muscular features.[17] Bone formation and removal, from a cellular standpoint, is directly correlated to hind limb muscles. Action pressure from muscles creates force that is then distributed through the skeletal structures. Rabbits that generate less force, putting less stress on bones are more prone to osteoporosis due to bone rarefaction.[18] In rabbits, the more fibers in a muscle, the more resistant to fatigue. For example, hares have a greater resistance to fatigue than cottontails. The muscles of rabbit's hind limbs can be classified into four main categories: hamstrings, quadriceps, dorsiflexors, or plantar flexors. The quadriceps muscles are in charge of force production when jumping. Complementing these muscles are the hamstrings, which aid in short bursts of action. These muscles play off of one another in the same way as the plantar flexors and dorsiflexors, contributing to the generation and actions associated with force.[19]

Ears

 
Anatomy of mammalian ear
 
A Holland Lop resting with one ear up and one ear down. Some rabbits can adjust their ears to hear distant sounds.

Within the order lagomorphs, the ears are used to detect and avoid predators. In the family Leporidae, the ears are typically longer than they are wide. For example, in black tailed jack rabbits, their long ears cover a greater surface area relative to their body size that allow them to detect predators from far away. In contrast with cottontail rabbits, their ears are smaller and shorter, requiring that predators be closer before they can detect them and flee. Evolution has favored rabbits having shorter ears, so the larger surface area does not cause them to lose heat in more temperate regions. The opposite can be seen in rabbits that live in hotter climates; possessing longer ears with a larger surface area helps with dispersion of heat. Since sound travels less well in arid as opposed to cooler air, longer ears may aid the organism in detecting predators sooner rather than later, in warmer temperatures.[20][page needed] Rabbits are characterized by shorter ears than hares.[21][page needed] Rabbits' ears are an important structure to aid thermoregulation as well as in detecting predators due to the way the outer, middle, and inner ear muscles coordinate with one another. The ear muscles also aid in maintaining balance and movement when fleeing predators.[22]

Outer ear

The auricle, also known as the pinna, is a rabbit's outer ear.[23] The rabbit's pinnae represent a fair part of the body surface area. It is theorized that the ears aid in dispersion of heat at temperatures above 30 °C (86 °F), with rabbits in warmer climates having longer pinnae due to this. Another theory is that the ears function as shock absorbers that could aid and stabilize rabbits' vision when fleeing predators, but this has typically only been seen in hares.[24][page needed] The rest of the outer ear has bent canals that lead to the eardrum or tympanic membrane.[25]

Middle ear

The middle ear, separated by the outer eardrum in the back of the rabbit's skull, contains three bones: the hammer, anvil, and stirrup, collectively called ossicles, which act to decrease sound before it hits the inner ear; in general, the ossicles act as a barrier to the inner ear for sound energy.[25]

Inner ear

Inner ear fluid, called endolymph, receives the sound energy. After receiving the energy. The inner ear comprises two parts: the cochlea that uses sound waves from the ossicles, and the vestibular apparatus that manages the rabbit's position in regard to movement. Within the cochlea a basilar membrane contains sensory hair structures that send nerve signals to the brain, allowing it to recognize different sound frequencies. Within the vestibular apparatus three semicircular canals help detect angular motion.[25]

Dewlaps

 
A palomino rabbit displaying her dewlap beside a month-old kit

A dewlap is a longitudinal flap of skin or similar flesh that hangs beneath the lower jaw or neck. It is a secondary sex characteristic in rabbits, caused by the presence of female sex hormones. They develop with puberty. A female rabbit who has been neutered before reaching sexual maturity will not develop a dewlap, and even if a doe is neutered after developing a dewlap, the dewlap will gradually disappear over several months. This also aligns with the results of injecting male rabbits with female sex hormones, specifically the ones from pregnant women's urine. The male rabbits developed dewlaps, which then gradually disappeared once administration had ceased.[26] (This is not the process of the rabbit test, a common way to test for human female pregnancy in the 20th century; the pregnancy test involved dissecting female rabbits after injection with urine to see if their ovaries had enlarged.)[27] While it is unclear exactly what function a dewlap performs, pregnant female rabbits will pluck fur from their dewlaps shortly before giving birth to line a nest for their young.[28]

Thermoregulation

 
The blood flow through the rabbit's large ears help with thermoregulation.

Thermoregulation is the process that an organism uses to maintain an optimal body temperature independent of external conditions.[29] This process is carried out by the pinnae, which takes up most of the rabbit's body surface and contain a vascular network and arteriovenous shunts.[30] In a rabbit, the optimal body temperature is around 38.5–40.0 °C (101.3–104.0 °F).[31] If their body temperature exceeds or does not meet this optimal temperature, the rabbit must return to homeostasis. Homeostasis of body temperature is maintained by the use of their large, highly vascularized ears that are able to change the amount of blood flow that passes through the ears.

Respiratory system

 
Ventral view of dissected rabbit lungs with key structures labeled

The rabbit's nasal cavity lies dorsal to the oral cavity, and the two compartments are separated by the hard and soft palate.[32] The nasal cavity itself is separated into a left and right side by a cartilage barrier, and it is covered in fine hairs that trap dust before it can enter the respiratory tract.[32][33][page needed] As the rabbit breathes, air flows in through the nostrils along the alar folds. From there, the air moves into the nasal cavity, also known as the nasopharynx, down through the trachea, through the larynx, and into the lungs.[33][page needed][34] The larynx functions as the rabbit's voice box, which enables it to produce a wide variety of sounds.[33][page needed] The trachea is a long tube embedded with cartilaginous rings that prevent the tube from collapsing as air moves in and out of the lungs. The trachea then splits into a left and right bronchus, which meet the lungs at a structure called the hilum. From there, the bronchi split into progressively more narrow and numerous branches. The bronchi branch into bronchioles, into respiratory bronchioles, and ultimately terminate at the alveolar ducts. The branching that is typically found in rabbit lungs is a clear example of monopodial branching, in which smaller branches divide out laterally from a larger central branch.[35]

The structure of the rabbit's nasal and oral cavities necessitates breathing through the nose. This is due to the fact that the epiglottis is fixed to the backmost portion of the soft palate.[34] Within the oral cavity, a layer of tissue sits over the opening of the glottis, which blocks airflow from the oral cavity to the trachea.[32] The epiglottis functions to prevent the rabbit from aspirating on its food. Further, the presence of a soft and hard palate allow the rabbit to breathe through its nose while it feeds.[33][page needed]

 
Monopodial branching as seen in dissected rabbit lungs

Rabbits' lungs are divided into four lobes: the cranial, middle, caudal, and accessory lobes. The right lung is made up of all four lobes, while the left lung only has two: the cranial and caudal lobes.[35] To provide space for the heart, the left cranial lobe of the lungs is significantly smaller than that of the right.[32] The diaphragm is a muscular structure that lies caudal to the lungs and contracts to facilitate respiration.[32][34]


Digestion

Main article: Cecotrope

Easily digestible food is processed in the gastrointestinal tract and expelled as regular feces. But in order to get nutrients out of hard to digest fiber, rabbits ferment fiber in the cecum (in the GI tract) and then expel the contents as cecotropes, which are reingested (cecotrophy). The cecotropes are then absorbed in the small intestine to utilize the nutrients.[9][36]

 
Dissected image of the male rabbit reproductive system with key structures labeled

Because rabbits cannot vomit,[37] if buildup occurs within the intestines (due often to a diet with insufficient fibre),[38] intestinal blockage can occur.[39]

Reproduction

 
Diagram of the male rabbit reproductive system with main components labeled

The adult male reproductive system forms the same as most mammals with the seminiferous tubular compartment containing the Sertoli cells and an adluminal compartment that contains the Leydig cells.[40] The Leydig cells produce testosterone, which maintains libido[40] and creates secondary sex characteristics such as the genital tubercle and penis. The Sertoli cells triggers the production of Anti-Müllerian duct hormone, which absorbs the Müllerian duct. In an adult male rabbit, the sheath of the penis is cylinder-like and can be extruded as early as two months of age.[41] The scrotal sacs lay lateral to the penis and contain epididymal fat pads which protect the testes. Between 10 and 14 weeks, the testes descend and are able to retract into the pelvic cavity to thermoregulate.[41] Furthermore, the secondary sex characteristics, such as the testes, are complex and secrete many compounds. These compounds include fructose, citric acid, minerals, and a uniquely high amount of catalase.[40]

 
Diagram of the female rabbit reproductive system with main components labeled

The adult female reproductive tract is bipartite, which prevents an embryo from translocating between uteri.[42] The two uterine horns communicate to two cervixes and forms one vaginal canal. Along with being bipartite, the female rabbit does not go through an estrus cycle, which causes mating induced ovulation.[41]

The average female rabbit becomes sexually mature at three to eight months of age and can conceive at any time of the year for the duration of her life. Egg and sperm production can begin to decline after three years.[40] During mating, the male rabbit will mount the female rabbit from behind and insert his penis into the female and make rapid pelvic hip thrusts. The encounter lasts only 20–40 seconds and after, the male will throw himself backwards off the female.[43]

The rabbit gestation period is short and ranges from 28 to 36 days with an average period of 31 days. A longer gestation period will generally yield a smaller litter while shorter gestation periods will give birth to a larger litter. The size of a single litter can range from four to 12 kits allowing a female to deliver up to 60 new kits a year. After birth, the female can become pregnant again as early as the next day.[41]

After mating, in some species, hormonal changes will cause the doe to begin to dig a burrow for her nest about a week before giving birth. Between three days and a few hours before giving birth another series of hormonal changes will cause her to prepare the nest structure. The doe will first gather grass for a structure, and an elevation in prolactin shortly before birth will cause her fur to shed that the doe will then use to line the nest, providing insulation for the newborn kits.[44]

The mortality rates of embryos are high in rabbits and can be due to infection, trauma, poor nutrition and environmental stress so a high fertility rate is necessary to counter this.[41]

Sleep

Further information: Sleep (non-human)

Rabbits may appear to be crepuscular, but their natural inclination is toward nocturnal activity.[45] In 2011, the average sleep time of a rabbit in captivity was calculated at 8.4 hours per day.[46] As with other prey animals, rabbits often sleep with their eyes open, so that sudden movements will awaken the rabbit to respond to potential danger.[47]

Diseases and immunity

See also: Category:Rabbit diseases

In addition to being at risk of disease from common pathogens such as Bordetella bronchiseptica and Escherichia coli, rabbits can contract the virulent, species-specific viruses RHD ("rabbit hemorrhagic disease", a form of calicivirus)[48] or myxomatosis. Among the parasites that infect rabbits are tapeworms (such as Taenia serialis), external parasites (including fleas and mites), coccidia species, and Toxoplasma gondii.[49][50] Domesticated rabbits with a diet lacking in high-fiber sources, such as hay and grass, are susceptible to potentially lethal gastrointestinal stasis.[51] Rabbits and hares are almost never found to be infected with rabies and have not been known to transmit rabies to humans.[52]

Encephalitozoon cuniculi, a microsporidial parasite, is capable of infecting many mammals, including rabbits.[53]

Rabbit immunity has significantly diverged from other tetrapods in the manner in which it employs immunoglobulin light chains.[54][55] In one case, McCartney-Francis (et al., 1984) discover a unique additional disulfide bond between Cys 80 in Vκ and Cys 171 in Cκ.[54][55] They suggest that this may serve to stabilise rabbit antibodies.[54][55] Meanwhile, IGKC1 shows high amino acid divergence between domesticated types and ferals derived from them.[55] This can be as high as 40%.[55]

Rabbit hemorrhagic disease (RHD) is caused by strains of rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV), including type 2 (RHDV2).[56] RHDV2 was detected for the first time in Washington state, US in May 2022 and then in August once in Washington and twice in Oregon.[57] Since then, it has spread to many states in the Unites States.

Ecology

 
Rabbit kits one hour after birth

Rabbits are prey animals and are therefore constantly aware of their surroundings. For instance, in Mediterranean Europe, rabbits are the main prey of red foxes, badgers, and Iberian lynxes.[58] If confronted by a potential threat, a rabbit may freeze and observe then warn others in the warren with powerful thumps on the ground. Rabbits have a remarkably wide field of vision, and a good deal of it is devoted to overhead scanning.[59] The doe (mother) is aware that she gives off scent which can attract predators, so she will stay away from the nest to avoid putting the kits (babies) in danger, returning the nest only a few times a day to feed the kits.[60]

Rabbits survive predation by burrowing (some species), hopping away in a zig-zag motion, and, if captured, delivering powerful kicks with their hind legs. Their strong teeth allow them to bite to escape a struggle.[61] The longest-lived rabbit on record, a domesticated European rabbit living in Tasmania, died at age 18.[62] The lifespan of wild rabbits is much shorter; the average longevity of an eastern cottontail, for instance, is less than one year.[63]

Habitat and range

 
Domestic rabbit photographed at Alligator Bay, Beauvoir, France

Rabbit habitats include meadows, woods, forests, grasslands, deserts and wetlands.[64] While some rabbits live solitary lives, others live in groups, and the European rabbit, lives in burrows, or rabbit holes. A group of burrows is called a warren.[64]

More than half of the world's rabbit population resides in North America.[64] They are also native to southwestern Europe, Southeast Asia, Sumatra, some islands of Japan, and parts of Africa and South America. They are not naturally found in most of Eurasia, where a number of species of hares are present. Rabbits first entered South America relatively recently, as part of the Great American Interchange. Much of the continent has just one species of rabbit, the tapeti, while most of South America's Southern Cone has no rabbits. The European rabbit has been introduced to many places around the world.[12] A recent study found that "the (so-called) Chinese rabbits were introduced from Europe. Genetic diversity in Chinese rabbits was very low."[65]

Rabbits have been launched into space orbit.[66]

Environmental problems

See also: Rabbits in Australia
 
Impact of rabbit-proof fence, Cobar, New South Wales, 1905

Rabbits have been a source of environmental problems when introduced into the wild by humans. As a result of their appetites, and the rate at which they breed, feral rabbit depredation can be problematic for agriculture. Gassing (fumigation of warrens),[67] barriers (fences), shooting, snaring, and ferreting have been used to control rabbit populations, but the most effective measures are diseases such as myxomatosis (myxo or mixi, colloquially) 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, it could create a population boom, as those diseases are the most serious threats to rabbit survival. Rabbits in Australia and New Zealand are considered to be such a pest that land owners are legally obliged to control them.[68][69]

Rabbits are known to be able to catch fire and spread wildfires, but the efficiency and relevance of this method has been doubted by forest experts who contend that a rabbit on fire could move some meters.[70][71] Knowledge on fire-spreading rabbits is based on anecdotes as there is no known scientific investigation on the subject.[71]

As food and clothing

Main article: Cuniculture
See also: Category:Rabbit dishes

In some areas, wild rabbits and hares are hunted for their meat, a lean source of high quality protein.[72] In the wild, such hunting is accomplished with the aid of trained falcons, ferrets, or dogs, as well as with snares or other traps and rifles. A caught rabbit may be dispatched with a sharp blow to the back of its head, a practice from which the term rabbit punch is derived.

Wild leporids comprise a small portion of global rabbit-meat consumption. Domesticated descendants of the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) that are bred and kept as livestock (a practice called cuniculture) account for the estimated 200 million tons of rabbit meat produced annually.[73] Approximately 1.2 billion rabbits are slaughtered each year for meat worldwide.[74] In 1994, the countries with the highest consumption per capita of rabbit meat were Malta with 8.89 kg (19.6 lb), Italy with 5.71 kg (12.6 lb), and Cyprus with 4.37 kg (9.6 lb), falling to 0.03 kg (0.07 lb) in Japan. The figure for the United States was 0.14 kg (0.31 lb) per capita. The largest producers of rabbit meat in 1994 were China, Russia, Italy, France, and Spain.[75] Rabbit meat was once a common commodity in Sydney, but declined after the myxomatosis virus was intentionally introduced to control the exploding population of feral rabbits in the area.

In the United Kingdom, fresh rabbit is sold in butcher shops and markets, and some supermarkets sell frozen rabbit meat. At farmers markets there, including the famous Borough Market in London, rabbit carcasses are sometimes displayed hanging, unbutchered (in the traditional style), next to braces of pheasant or other small game. Rabbit meat is a feature of Moroccan cuisine, where it is cooked in a tajine with "raisins and grilled almonds added a few minutes before serving".[76] In China, rabbit meat is particularly popular in Sichuan cuisine, with its stewed rabbit, spicy diced rabbit, BBQ-style rabbit, and even spicy rabbit heads, which have been compared to spicy duck neck.[73] Rabbit meat is comparatively unpopular elsewhere in the Asia–Pacific.

An extremely rare infection associated with rabbits-as-food is tularemia (also known as rabbit fever), which may be contracted from an infected rabbit.[77] Inhaling the bacteria during the skinning process increases the risk of getting tularemia.

In addition to their meat, rabbits are used for their wool, fur, and pelts, as well as their nitrogen-rich manure and their high-protein milk.[78] Production industries have developed domesticated rabbit breeds (such as the well-known Angora rabbit) for the purpose of these needs.

Behaviors

Binkies, also more generally called zoomies,[79] in rabbits are characterized by a sudden kick with their hind legs, shaking their heads sideways (usually mid-air), and running around rapidly. Another term is half-binky, which is characterized by a shorter span and a sharp flick of the head. Both types of binkies indicate happiness or excitement. All of which typically only last for around a second. A rabbit might do quick, rapid multiple binkies in one session. It is thought to be a practice run in case they need to escape from danger.[80] Binkies more commonly occur in domesticated rabbits living in a comfortable environment.[81]

Rabbits mostly use full-body actions, like flopping, to communicate emotion to other rabbits and humans. Rabbits flopping in front of other rabbits can be meant as a non-aggressive insult.[82][83] Rabbits commonly smell the ground first, then tilt their head to the side with a subtle jerky movement in order to lie down to its side, which exposes their belly. They may thump their hind feet on the ground to signal other rabbits that they're feeling threatened or that potential dangers are near their territory. Some domesticated rabbits might thump to get their owner's attention. Not all rabbits thump.[84]

Both sexes of rabbits often rub their chins on objects or people with their scent gland located under the chin. This is the rabbit's way of marking their territory or possessions for other rabbits to recognize by depositing scent gland secretions. It might also serve as a reminder for the rabbit to return and investigate the object later, helping them navigate in the dark and to help them in their recollection of where they have been. Rabbits who have bonded will respect each other's smell, which indicates a territorial border.[85][86]

In culture

Main article: Rabbits and hares in art

Rabbits are often posited by scholars as symbols of fertility and spring. The Easter Bunny is a figure from Lutheran German folklore that then spread to America and later other parts of the world and is similar to Santa Claus. The rabbits' role as a prey animal with few defenses evokes vulnerability and innocence and in folklore and modern children's stories, rabbits often appear as sympathetic characters, able to connect easily with youth of all kinds (for example, the Velveteen Rabbit or Thumper in Bambi).

With its reputation as a prolific breeder, the rabbit juxtaposes sexuality with innocence, as in the Playboy Bunny. The rabbit is also known for its speed, agility, and endurance, symbolized (for example) by the marketing icons the Energizer Bunny and the Duracell Bunny.

Folklore

Main article: List of fictional hares and rabbits

The rabbit often appears in folklore as the trickster archetype as he uses his cunning to outwit his enemies.

The rabbit as trickster is a part of American popular culture, as Br'er Rabbit (from African-American folktales and, later, Disney animation) and Bugs Bunny (the cartoon character from Warner Bros.), for example.

Anthropomorphized rabbits have appeared in film and literature, in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (the White Rabbit and the March Hare characters), in Watership Down (including the film and television adaptations), in Rabbit Hill (by Robert Lawson), and in the Peter Rabbit stories (by Beatrix Potter). In the 1920s, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit was a popular cartoon character.

A rabbit's foot may be carried as an amulet, believed to bring protection and good luck. This belief is found in many parts of the world, with the earliest use being recorded in Europe c. 600 BC.[89]

On the Isle of Portland in Dorset, UK, the rabbit is said to be unlucky, and speaking the creature's name can cause upset among older island residents. This is thought to date back to early times in the local quarrying industry, where, to save space, extracted stones that were not fit for sale were set aside in what became tall, unstable walls. The local rabbits' tendency to burrow there would weaken the walls, and their collapse would result in injuries or even death. In the local culture to this day, the rabbit (when he has to be referred to) may instead be called a "long ears" or "underground mutton" so as not to risk bringing a downfall upon oneself.[90]

In other parts of Britain and in North America, "Rabbit rabbit rabbit" is one variant of an apotropaic or talismanic superstition that involves saying or repeating the word "rabbit" (or "rabbits" or "white rabbits" or some combination thereof) out loud upon waking on the first day of each month, because doing so is believed to ensure good fortune for the duration of that month.[91]

The "rabbit test" is a term first used in 1949 for the Friedman test, an early diagnostic tool for detecting a pregnancy in humans. It is a common misconception (or perhaps an urban legend) that the test-rabbit would die if the woman was pregnant. This led to the phrase "the rabbit died" becoming a euphemism for a positive pregnancy test.[92]

Many modern children's stories and cartoons portray rabbits as particularly fond of eating carrots. This is a myth, as wild rabbits do not naturally seek out carrots over other plants, and in fact eating too much carrot is harmful for them because of its high sugar content.[93] This led to some owners feeding them mostly carrots based on this false perception.[94][95]

See also

References

Notes

  1. ^ This genus is a hare, not a rabbit

Citations

  1. ^ "Data export". DAD-IS (Domestic Animal Diversity Information System). FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations). 21 November 2017. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  2. ^ "coney". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  3. ^ "The Collective Noun Page". from the original on 1 February 2008. Retrieved 30 January 2008.
  4. ^ McClure, Diane (2018). "Breeding and Reproduction of Rabbits". Merck Veterinary Manual. from the original on 6 January 2018. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  5. ^ . archived copy of Animal Congregations, or What Do You Call a Group of.....?. U.S. Geological Survey Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center. Archived from the original on 20 March 2015. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
  6. ^ "rabbit". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  7. ^ Irving-Pease, Evan K.; Frantz, Laurent A.F.; Sykes, Naomi; Callou, Cécile; Larson, Greger (2018). "Rabbits and the Specious Origins of Domestication". Trends in Ecology & Evolution. 33 (3): 149–152. doi:10.1016/j.tree.2017.12.009. ISSN 0169-5347. PMID 29454669. S2CID 3380288.
  8. ^ Brown, Louise (2001). How to Care for Your Rabbit. Kingdom Books. p. 6. ISBN 978-1-85279-167-4.
  9. ^ a b Katherine Quesenberry & James W. Carpenter, Ferrets, Rabbits, and Rodents: Clinical Medicine and Surgery (3rd ed. 2012).
  10. ^ d'Ovidio, Dario; Pierantoni, Ludovica; Noviello, Emilio; Pirrone, Federica (September 2016). "Sex differences in human-directed social behavior in pet rabbits". Journal of Veterinary Behavior. 15: 37–42. doi:10.1016/j.jveb.2016.08.072.
  11. ^ van Praag, Esther (2005). "Deformed claws in a rabbit, after traumatic fractures" (PDF). MediRabbit.
  12. ^ a b "rabbit". Encyclopædia Britannica (Standard ed.). Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 2007.
  13. ^ "What do Rabbits See?". from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
  14. ^ Bensley, Benjamin Arthur (1910). Practical anatomy of the rabbit. The University Press. p. 1. rabbit skeletal anatomy.
  15. ^ "Description and Physical Characteristics of Rabbits – All Other Pets – Merck Veterinary Manual". Merck Veterinary Manual. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  16. ^ D.A.B.V.P., Margaret A. Wissman, D.V.M. "Rabbit Anatomy". exoticpetvet.net. Retrieved 11 May 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  17. ^ Susan, Lumpkin; Seidensticker, John (2011). Rabbits: the animal answer guide. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-1-4214-0126-3. OCLC 794700391.
  18. ^ Geiser, Max; Trueta, Joseph (May 1958). "Muscle action, bone rarefaction and bone formation". The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery. British Volume. 40-B (2): 282–311. doi:10.1302/0301-620X.40B2.282. PMID 13539115.
  19. ^ Lieber, Richard L.; Blevins, Field T. (January 1989). "Skeletal muscle architecture of the rabbit hindlimb: Functional implications of muscle design". Journal of Morphology. 199 (1): 93–101. doi:10.1002/jmor.1051990108. PMID 2921772. S2CID 25344889.
  20. ^ Hall, E. Raymond (2001). The Mammals of North America. The Blackburn Press. ISBN 978-1-930665-35-4.
  21. ^ Bensley, Benjamin Arthur (1910). Practical anatomy of the rabbit. The University Press.
  22. ^ Meyer, D. L. (1971). "Single Unit Responses of Rabbit Ear-Muscles to Postural and Accelerative Stimulation". Experimental Brain Research. 14 (2): 118–26. doi:10.1007/BF00234795. PMID 5016586. S2CID 6466476.
  23. ^ Capello, Vittorio (2006). "Lateral Ear Canal Resection and Ablation in Pet Rabbits" (PDF). The North American Veterinary Conference. 20: 1711–1713.
  24. ^ Vella, David (2012). Ferrets, Rabbits, and Rodents: Clinical Medicine and Surgery. Elsevier. ISBN 978-1-4160-6621-7.
  25. ^ a b c Parsons, Paige K. (2018). "Rabbit Ears: A Structural Look: ...injury or disease, can send your rabbit into a spin". House Rabbit Society.
  26. ^ Hu, C.-k.; Frazier, C. N. (1 February 1938). "Relationship Between Female Sex Hormone and Dewlap in the Rabbit". Experimental Biology and Medicine. 38 (1): 116–119. doi:10.3181/00379727-38-9761. ISSN 1535-3702. S2CID 87987542.
  27. ^ Howe, Marvine (10 March 1991). "Dr Maurice Friedman 87 Dies Created Rabbit Pregnancy Test". The New York Times.
  28. ^ Vennen, Kristine M.; Mitchell, Mark A. (1 January 2009), Mitchell, Mark A.; Tully, Thomas N. (eds.), "Rabbits", Manual of Exotic Pet Practice, Saint Louis: W.B. Saunders: 375–405, doi:10.1016/b978-141600119-5.50017-2, ISBN 978-1-4160-0119-5, PMC 7152457
  29. ^ Romanovsky, A. A. (March 2014). "Skin temperature: its role in thermoregulation". Acta Physiologica. 210 (3): 498–507. doi:10.1111/apha.12231. PMC 4159593. PMID 24716231.
  30. ^ Vella, David (2012). Ferrets, Rabbits, and Rodents: Clinical, Medicine, and Surgery. Elsevier. ISBN 978-1-4160-6621-7.[page needed]
  31. ^ Fayez, I; Marai, M; Alnaimy, A; Habeeb, M (1994). "Thermoregulation in rabbits". In Baselga, M; Marai, I.F.M. (eds.). Rabbit production in hot climates. Zaragoza: CIHEAM. pp. 33–41.
  32. ^ a b c d e Johnson-Delaney, Cathy A.; Orosz, Susan E. (2011). "Rabbit Respiratory System: Clinical Anatomy, Physiology and Disease". Veterinary Clinics of North America: Exotic Animal Practice. 14 (2): 257–266. doi:10.1016/j.cvex.2011.03.002. PMID 21601814.
  33. ^ a b c d Smith, David G. (2019). A dissection guide & atlas to the rabbit. Morton. ISBN 978-1-61731-937-2. OCLC 1084742187.
  34. ^ a b c Jekl, Vladimi (2012). "Approach to Rabbit Respiratory Disease". WSAVA/FECAVA/BSAVA World Congress. As obligate nasal breathers, rabbits with upper airway disease will attempt to breathe through their mouths, which prevents feeding and drinking and could be quickly fatal.
  35. ^ a b Autifi, Mohamed Abdul Haye; El-Banna, Ahmed Kamal; Ebaid, Ashraf El- Sayed (2015). "Morphological Study of Rabbit Lung, Bronchial Tree, and Pulmonary Vessels Using Corrosion Cast Technique". Al-Azhar Assiut Medical Journal. 13 (3): 41–51.
  36. ^ "Exploring a Rabbit's Unique Digestive System". Rabbits for Dummies. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
  37. ^ Bernard E. Rollin (13 March 1995). The Experimental Animal in Biomedical Research: Care, Husbandry, and Well-Being-An Overview by Species, Volume 2. CRC Press. p. 359. ISBN 978-0-8493-4982-9.
  38. ^ Karr-Lilienthal, Phd (University of Nebraska – Lincoln), Lisa (4 November 2011). "The Digestive System of the Rabbit". eXtension (a Part of the Cooperative Extension Service). from the original on 6 January 2018. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  39. ^ "Living with a House Rabbit". from the original on 21 September 2017. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  40. ^ a b c d Foote, Robert H; Carney, Edward W (2000). "The rabbit as a model for reproductive and developmental toxicity studies". Reproductive Toxicology. 14 (6): 477–493. doi:10.1016/s0890-6238(00)00101-5. ISSN 0890-6238. PMID 11099874.
  41. ^ a b c d e "Rabbit Reproduction Basics". LafeberVet. 5 May 2014. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
  42. ^ Weisbroth, Steven H.; Flatt, Ronald E.; Kraus, Alan L. (1974). The Biology of the Laboratory Rabbit. doi:10.1016/c2013-0-11681-9. ISBN 978-0-12-742150-6.
  43. ^ "Understanding the Mating Process for Breeding Rabbits". florida4h.org. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  44. ^ Benedek, I; Altbӓcker, V; Molnár, T (2021). "Stress reactivity near birth affects nest building timing and offspring number and survival in the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus)". PLOS ONE. 16 (1): e0246258. Bibcode:2021PLoSO..1646258B. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0246258. PMC 7845978. PMID 33513198.
  45. ^ Jilge, B (1991). "The rabbit: a diurnal or a nocturnal animal?". Journal of Experimental Animal Science. 34 (5–6): 170–183. PMID 1814463.
  46. ^ "40 Winks?" Jennifer S. Holland, National Geographic Vol. 220, No. 1. July 2011.
  47. ^ Wright, Samantha (2011). For The Love of Parsley. A Guide To Your Rabbit's Most Common Behaviours. Lulu. pp. 35–36. ISBN 978-1-4467-9111-0.
  48. ^ Cooke, Brian Douglas (2014). Australia's War Against Rabbits. CSIRO Publishing. ISBN 978-0-643-09612-7. from the original on 7 June 2014.
  49. ^ Wood, Maggie. . Chicago Exotics, PC. Archived from the original on 2 March 2013. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
  50. ^ Boschert, Ken. "Internal Parasites of Rabbits". Net Vet. from the original on 2 April 2013. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
  51. ^ Krempels, Dana. "GastroIntestinal Stasis, The Silent Killer". Department of Biology at the University of Miami. from the original on 19 June 2017. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  52. ^ "Rabies: Other Wild Animals". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 15 November 2011. from the original on 20 December 2010. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  53. ^ Latney, La’Toya (2014). "Encephalitozoon cuniculi in pet rabbits: diagnosis and optimal management". Veterinary Medicine (Auckland, N.Z.). 5: 169–180. doi:10.2147/VMRR.S49842. PMC 7337189. PMID 32670857.
  54. ^ a b c
    •  • Weber, Justus; Peng, Haiyong; Rader, Christoph (2017). "From rabbit antibody repertoires to rabbit monoclonal antibodies". Experimental & Molecular Medicine. 49 (3). Nature Portfolio: e305. doi:10.1038/emm.2017.23. ISSN 2092-6413. PMC 5382564. PMID 28336958. S2CID 4066391.
    •  • Mage, Rose G.; Lanning, Dennis; Knight, Katherine L. (2006). "B cell and antibody repertoire development in rabbits: The requirement of gut-associated lymphoid tissues". Developmental & Comparative Immunology. 30 (1–2). Elsevier: 137–153. doi:10.1016/j.dci.2005.06.017. ISSN 0145-305X. PMID 16098588.
    •  • Conrath, K.E.; Wernery, U.; Muyldermans, S.; Nguyen, V.K. (2003). "Emergence and evolution of functional heavy-chain antibodies in Camelidae". Developmental & Comparative Immunology. 27 (2). Elsevier: 87–103. doi:10.1016/s0145-305x(02)00071-x. ISSN 0145-305X. PMID 12543123.
    •  • Davis, Mark M. (1985). "Molecular Genetics of the T Cell-Receptor Beta Chain". Annual Review of Immunology. 3 (1). Annual Reviews: 537–560. doi:10.1146/annurev.iy.03.040185.002541. ISSN 0732-0582. PMID 3933533.
  55. ^ a b c d e Pinheiro, Ana; Neves, Fabiana; Lemos de Matos, Ana; Abrantes, Joana; van der Loo, Wessel; Mage, Rose; Esteves, Pedro José (23 September 2015). "An overview of the lagomorph immune system and its genetic diversity". Immunogenetics. 68 (2). Springer: 83–107. doi:10.1007/s00251-015-0868-8. ISSN 0093-7711. PMID 26399242. S2CID 18131774.
  56. ^ "Rabbit hemorrhagic disease". American Veterinary Medical Association. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
  57. ^ "Deadly rabbit disease confirmed in Thurston County; vets urge vaccination". Washington State Department of Agriculture. 25 September 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
  58. ^ Fedriani, J. M.; Palomares, F.; Delibes, M. (1999). "Niche relations among three sympatric Mediterranean carnivores" (PDF). Oecologia. 121 (1): 138–148. Bibcode:1999Oecol.121..138F. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.587.7215. doi:10.1007/s004420050915. JSTOR 4222449. PMID 28307883. S2CID 39202154. (PDF) from the original on 4 March 2016.
  59. ^ Tynes, Valarie V. Behavior of Exotic Pets 6 May 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Wiley Blackwell, 2010, p. 70.
  60. ^ "How To Keep A Wild Baby Rabbit Alive — Rabbit Care Tips". Rabbitcaretips.com. 24 February 2021. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  61. ^ Davis, Susan E. and DeMello, Margo Stories Rabbits Tell: A Natural And Cultural History of A Misunderstood Creature 6 May 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Lantern Books, 2003, p. 27.
  62. ^ Glenday, Craig (2013). Guinness World Records 2014. Guinness World Records Limited. pp. 043. ISBN 978-1-908843-15-9.
  63. ^ Cottontail rabbit at Indiana Department of Natural Resources 17 November 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  64. ^ a b c . Archived from the original on 4 August 2009. Retrieved 7 July 2009.
  65. ^ Long, J.-R.; Qiu, X.-P.; Zeng, F.-T.; Tang, L.-M.; Zhang, Y.-P. (April 2003). "Origin of rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) in China: evidence from mitochondrial DNA control region sequence analysis". Animal Genetics. 34 (2): 82–87. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2052.2003.00945.x. PMID 12648090.
  66. ^ Beischer, DE; Fregly, AR (1962). . US Naval School of Aviation Medicine. ONR TR ACR-64 (AD0272581). Archived from the original on 11 August 2015. Retrieved 14 June 2011.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  67. ^ Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development; Agriculture and Food Division; Pest and Disease Information Service (PaDIS). "Rabbit control: fumigation". agric.wa.gov.au. Government of Western Australia. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  68. ^ "Feral animals in Australia — Invasive species". Environment.gov.au. 1 February 2010. from the original on 21 July 2010. Retrieved 30 August 2010.
  69. ^ "Rabbits — The role of government — Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand". Teara.govt.nz. 1 March 2009. from the original on 12 June 2011. Retrieved 30 August 2010.
  70. ^ Jerez, Sara (23 February 2023). ""Es cierto": Experto confirma que conejos y otros animales en llamas sí pueden propagar incendios". Radio Bío-Bío (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  71. ^ a b del Mar Parra, Maria (23 February 2023). "Experto forestal: "Los conejos no son un agente significativo de propagación de incendios"". El Desconcierto (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  72. ^ . Archived from the original on 5 July 2008.
  73. ^ a b Olivia Geng, French Rabbit Heads: The Newest Delicacy in Chinese Cuisine 14 July 2017 at the Wayback Machine. The Wall Street Journal Blog, 13 June 2014
  74. ^ "FAOSTAT". FAO. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  75. ^ FAO – The Rabbit – Husbandry, health and production. 23 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  76. ^ 'Traditional Moroccan Cooking, Recipes from Fez', by Madame Guinadeau. (Serif, London, 2003). ISBN 1-897959-43-5.
  77. ^ . Health.utah.gov. 16 June 2003. Archived from the original on 26 May 2010. Retrieved 30 August 2010.
  78. ^ Houdebine, Louis-Marie; Fan, Jianglin (1 June 2009). Rabbit Biotechnology: Rabbit Genomics, Transgenesis, Cloning and Models. シュプリンガー・ジャパン株式会社. pp. 68–72. ISBN 978-90-481-2226-4. from the original on 26 April 2014. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
  79. ^ "Zoomies explained | Blog". Burgess Pet Care. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
  80. ^ Claire Speight RVN (5 June 2022). "Bunny binkies: Why rabbits binky and how to encourage it". PetsRadar. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  81. ^ Harding, Bryan (24 February 2021). "Why Do Rabbits Binky?". North American Nature. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  82. ^ Carter, Lou (17 August 2020). "Why Does My Rabbit Flop Over? Bunny Flopping Meaning!". Rabbit Care Tips. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  83. ^ "Binkies, Nose Bonks and Flops | Rabbit Behavior". My House Rabbit. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  84. ^ "Why Do Rabbits Thump? – Lafeber Co. – Small Mammals". Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  85. ^ Carter, Lou (31 August 2019). "Why is My Rabbit Chinning Everything?". Rabbit Care Tips. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  86. ^ Hoffman, Kurt L.; Hernández Decasa, D. M.; Beyer Ruiz, M. E.; González-Mariscal, Gabriela (5 March 2010). "Scent marking by the male domestic rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) is stimulated by an object's novelty and its specific visual or tactile characteristics". Behavioural Brain Research. 207 (2): 360–367. doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2009.10.021. ISSN 0166-4328. PMID 19857527. S2CID 10827948.
  87. ^ Brian Morris, The Power of Animals: An Ethnography, p. 177 (2000).
  88. ^ "Year of the Cat OR Year of the Rabbit?". nwasianweekly.com. 3 February 2011. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  89. ^ Ellis, Bill (1 January 2004). Lucifer Ascending: The Occult in Folklore and Popular Culture. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0-8131-2289-2.
  90. ^ "Wallace and Gromit spook island". BBC News. 7 October 2005. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  91. ^ Mayntz, Melissa (26 April 2019). "On the 1st Of The Month Say "Rabbit Rabbit" for Good luck!". Farmers' Almanac – Plan Your Day. Grow Your Life. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
  92. ^ Friedman, Maurice (1 May 1939). "The Assay of Gonadotropic Extracts in the Post-Partum Rabbit11". Endocrinology. 24 (5): 617–625. doi:10.1210/endo-24-5-617.
  93. ^ Bittel, Jason (19 February 2022). "Think you know what bunnies and bears eat? Their diets may surprise you". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  94. ^ Rioja-Lang, Fiona; Bacon, Heather; Connor, Melanie; Dwyer, Cathy Mary (2019). "Rabbit welfare: determining priority welfare issues for pet rabbits using a modified Delphi method". Veterinary Record Open. 6 (1): e000363. doi:10.1136/vetreco-2019-000363. ISSN 2399-2050. PMC 6924855. PMID 31903189.
  95. ^ George, Amber E.; Schatz, J. L. (27 April 2016). Screening the Nonhuman: Representations of Animal Others in the Media. Lexington Books. ISBN 978-1-4985-1375-3.

Further reading

External links

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rabbits.
 
Wikiquote has quotations related to Rabbit.
 
Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article "Rabbit".
  • American Rabbit Breeders Association organization that encourages Cuniculture and promotes all phases of rabbit keeping
  • Rabbit.org Foundation organization that discourages Cuniculture and promotes keeping rabbits indoors

April 11, 2024
rabbit, bunny, redirects, here, other, uses, bunny, disambiguation, disambiguation, also, known, bunnies, bunny, rabbits, small, mammals, family, leporidae, which, also, includes, hares, which, order, lagomorpha, which, also, includes, pikas, oryctolagus, cuni. Bunny redirects here For other uses see Bunny disambiguation and Rabbit disambiguation Rabbits also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae which also includes the hares which is in the order Lagomorpha which also includes the pikas Oryctolagus cuniculus is the European rabbit including its descendants the world s 305 breeds 1 of domestic rabbit Sylvilagus includes 13 wild rabbit species among them the seven types of cottontail The European rabbit which has been introduced on every continent except Antarctica is familiar throughout the world as a wild prey animal a domesticated form of livestock and a pet With its widespread effect on ecologies and cultures in many areas of the world the rabbit is a part of daily life as food clothing a companion and a source of artistic inspiration RabbitTemporal range Late Eocene Holocene 53 0 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg NEuropean rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus Scientific classificationDomain EukaryotaKingdom AnimaliaPhylum ChordataClass MammaliaOrder LagomorphaFamily LeporidaeIncluded generaPentalagus Bunolagus Nesolagus Romerolagus Brachylagus Sylvilagus Oryctolagus PoelagusAlthough once considered rodents lagomorphs diverged earlier and have a number of traits rodents lack including two extra incisors Contents 1 Terminology and etymology 2 Taxonomy 2 1 Differences from hares 2 2 Domestication 3 Biology 3 1 Evolution 3 2 Morphology 3 3 Hind limb elements 3 3 1 Musculature 3 4 Ears 3 4 1 Outer ear 3 4 2 Middle ear 3 4 3 Inner ear 3 5 Dewlaps 3 6 Thermoregulation 3 7 Respiratory system 3 8 Digestion 3 9 Reproduction 3 10 Sleep 3 11 Diseases and immunity 4 Ecology 4 1 Habitat and range 4 2 Environmental problems 5 As food and clothing 6 Behaviors 7 In culture 7 1 Folklore 8 See also 9 References 9 1 Notes 9 2 Citations 10 Further reading 11 External linksTerminology and etymologyA male rabbit is called a buck a female is called a doe An older term for an adult rabbit used until the 18th century is coney derived ultimately from the Latin cuniculus while rabbit once referred only to the young animals 2 Another term for a young rabbit is bunny though this term is often applied informally particularly by children to rabbits generally especially domestic ones More recently the term kit or kitten has been used to refer to a young rabbit A group of rabbits is known as a colony or nest or occasionally a warren though this more commonly refers to where the rabbits live 3 A group of baby rabbits produced from a single mating is referred to as a litter 4 and a group of domestic rabbits living together is sometimes called a herd 5 The word rabbit itself derives from the Middle English rabet a borrowing from the Walloon robete which was a diminutive of the French or Middle Dutch robbe 6 TaxonomySee also List of leporids Rabbits and hares were formerly classified in the order Rodentia rodent until 1912 when they were moved into a new order Lagomorpha which also includes pikas Below are some of the genera and species of the rabbit nbsp Brachylagus idahoensisPygmy rabbit nbsp Nesolagus netscheriSumatran striped rabbit Model nbsp Oryctolagus cuniculusEuropean rabbit Feral Tasmanian specimen nbsp Pentalagus furnessiAmami rabbit Taxidermy specimen nbsp Romerolagus diaziVolcano rabbit Taxidermy specimen nbsp Sylvilagus aquaticusSwamp rabbit Juvenile nbsp Sylvilagus auduboniiDesert cottontail nbsp Sylvilagus bachmaniBrush rabbit nbsp Sylvilagus brasiliensisTapeti Taxidermy specimen nbsp Sylvilagus floridanusEastern cottontailOrder Lagomorpha Family Leporidae in part Genus Brachylagus Pygmy rabbit Brachylagus idahoensis Genus Bunolagus Bushman rabbit Bunolagus monticularis Genus Lepus a Genus Nesolagus Sumatran striped rabbit Nesolagus netscheri Annamite striped rabbit Nesolagus timminsi Genus Oryctolagus European rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus Genus Pentalagus Amami rabbit Ryukyu rabbit Pentalagus furnessi Genus Poelagus Central African Rabbit Poelagus marjorita Genus Romerolagus Volcano rabbit Romerolagus diazi Genus Sylvilagus Swamp rabbit Sylvilagus aquaticus Desert cottontail Sylvilagus audubonii Brush rabbit Sylvilagus bachmani Forest rabbit Sylvilagus brasiliensis Mexican cottontail Sylvilagus cunicularis Dice s cottontail Sylvilagus dicei Eastern cottontail Sylvilagus floridanus Tres Marias rabbit Sylvilagus graysoni Omilteme cottontail Sylvilagus insonus San Jose brush rabbit Sylvilagus mansuetus Mountain cottontail Sylvilagus nuttallii Marsh rabbit Sylvilagus palustris New England cottontail Sylvilagus transitionalis Differences from hares Main article Hare nbsp HareJohann Daniel Meyer 1748 nbsp RabbitJohann Daniel Meyer 1748 The term rabbit is typically used for all Leporidae species excluding the genus Lepus Members of that genus are instead known as hares or jackrabbits Lepus species are precocial born relatively mature and mobile with hair and good vision while rabbit species are altricial born hairless and blind Hares and some rabbits live a relatively solitary life in a simple nest above the ground while other rabbits live in social groups in burrows which are grouped together to form warrens Hares are generally larger than rabbits with ears that are more elongated and with hind legs that are larger and longer Descendants of the European rabbit are commonly bred as livestock and kept as pets whereas no hares have been domesticated the breed called the Belgian hare is actually a domestic rabbit which has been selectively bred to resemble a hare Domestication Main article Domestic rabbit Rabbits have long been domesticated The European rabbit has been widely kept as livestock starting in ancient Rome Selective breeding which began in the Middle Ages has generated a wide variety of rabbit breeds of which many since the early 19th century are also kept as pets 7 Some strains of rabbit have been bred specifically as research subjects As livestock rabbits are bred for their meat and fur The earliest breeds were important sources of meat and so became larger than wild rabbits but domestic rabbits in modern times range in size from dwarf to giant Rabbit fur prized for its softness can be found in a broad range of coat colors and patterns as well as lengths The Angora rabbit breed for example was developed for its long silky fur which is often hand spun into yarn Other domestic rabbit breeds have been developed primarily for the commercial fur trade including the Rex which has a short plush coat Biology nbsp Wax models showing the development of the rabbit heartEvolution Because the rabbit s epiglottis is engaged over the soft palate except when swallowing the rabbit is an obligate nasal breather Rabbits have two sets of incisor teeth one behind the other This way they can be distinguished from rodents with which they are often confused 8 Another difference is that for rabbits all of their teeth continue to grow where as for most rodents only their incisors continue to grow Carl Linnaeus originally grouped rabbits and rodents under the class Glires later they were separated as the scientific consensus is that many of their similarities were a result of convergent evolution Recent DNA analysis and the discovery of a common ancestor has supported the view that they share a common lineage so rabbits and rodents are now often grouped together in the superorder Glires 9 Morphology nbsp Skeleton of the rabbitSince speed and agility are a rabbit s main defenses against predators including the swift fox rabbits have large hind leg bones and well developed musculature Though plantigrade at rest rabbits are on their toes while running assuming a more digitigrade posture Rabbits use their strong claws for digging and along with their teeth for defense 10 Each front foot has four toes plus a dewclaw Each hind foot has four toes but no dewclaw 11 nbsp Melanistic coloringOryctologus cuniculusEuropean rabbit wild Most wild rabbits especially compared to hares have relatively full egg shaped bodies The soft coat of the wild rabbit is agouti in coloration or rarely melanistic which aids in camouflage The tail of the rabbit with the exception of the cottontail species is dark on top and white below Cottontails have white on the top of their tails 12 As a result of the position of the eyes in its skull the rabbit has a field of vision that encompasses nearly 360 degrees with just a small blind spot at the bridge of the nose 13 Hind limb elements nbsp This image comes from a specimen in the Pacific Lutheran University natural history collection It displays all of the skeletal articulations of rabbit s hind limbs The anatomy of rabbits hind limbs is structurally similar to that of other land mammals and contributes to their specialized form of locomotion The bones of the hind limbs consist of long bones the femur tibia fibula and phalanges as well as short bones the tarsals These bones are created through endochondral ossification during development Like most land mammals the round head of the femur articulates with the acetabulum of the os coxae The femur articulates with the tibia but not the fibula which is fused to the tibia The tibia and fibula articulate with the tarsals of the pes commonly called the foot The hind limbs of the rabbit are longer than the front limbs This allows them to produce their hopping form of locomotion Longer hind limbs are more capable of producing faster speeds Hares which have longer legs than cottontail rabbits are able to move considerably faster 14 Rabbits stay just on their toes when moving this is called digitigrade locomotion The hind feet have four long toes that allow for this and are webbed to prevent them from spreading when hopping 15 Rabbits do not have paw pads on their feet like most other animals that use digitigrade locomotion Instead they have coarse compressed hair that offers protection 16 Musculature nbsp The rabbit s hind limb lateral view includes muscles involved in the quadriceps and hamstrings Rabbits have muscled hind legs that allow for maximum force maneuverability and acceleration that is divided into three main parts foot thigh and leg The hind limbs of a rabbit are an exaggerated feature They are much longer than the forelimbs providing more force Rabbits run on their toes to gain the optimal stride during locomotion The force put out by the hind limbs is contributed by both the structural anatomy of the fusion tibia and fibula and muscular features 17 Bone formation and removal from a cellular standpoint is directly correlated to hind limb muscles Action pressure from muscles creates force that is then distributed through the skeletal structures Rabbits that generate less force putting less stress on bones are more prone to osteoporosis due to bone rarefaction 18 In rabbits the more fibers in a muscle the more resistant to fatigue For example hares have a greater resistance to fatigue than cottontails The muscles of rabbit s hind limbs can be classified into four main categories hamstrings quadriceps dorsiflexors or plantar flexors The quadriceps muscles are in charge of force production when jumping Complementing these muscles are the hamstrings which aid in short bursts of action These muscles play off of one another in the same way as the plantar flexors and dorsiflexors contributing to the generation and actions associated with force 19 Ears nbsp Anatomy of mammalian ear nbsp A Holland Lop resting with one ear up and one ear down Some rabbits can adjust their ears to hear distant sounds Within the order lagomorphs the ears are used to detect and avoid predators In the family Leporidae the ears are typically longer than they are wide For example in black tailed jack rabbits their long ears cover a greater surface area relative to their body size that allow them to detect predators from far away In contrast with cottontail rabbits their ears are smaller and shorter requiring that predators be closer before they can detect them and flee Evolution has favored rabbits having shorter ears so the larger surface area does not cause them to lose heat in more temperate regions The opposite can be seen in rabbits that live in hotter climates possessing longer ears with a larger surface area helps with dispersion of heat Since sound travels less well in arid as opposed to cooler air longer ears may aid the organism in detecting predators sooner rather than later in warmer temperatures 20 page needed Rabbits are characterized by shorter ears than hares 21 page needed Rabbits ears are an important structure to aid thermoregulation as well as in detecting predators due to the way the outer middle and inner ear muscles coordinate with one another The ear muscles also aid in maintaining balance and movement when fleeing predators 22 Outer ear The auricle also known as the pinna is a rabbit s outer ear 23 The rabbit s pinnae represent a fair part of the body surface area It is theorized that the ears aid in dispersion of heat at temperatures above 30 C 86 F with rabbits in warmer climates having longer pinnae due to this Another theory is that the ears function as shock absorbers that could aid and stabilize rabbits vision when fleeing predators but this has typically only been seen in hares 24 page needed The rest of the outer ear has bent canals that lead to the eardrum or tympanic membrane 25 Middle ear The middle ear separated by the outer eardrum in the back of the rabbit s skull contains three bones the hammer anvil and stirrup collectively called ossicles which act to decrease sound before it hits the inner ear in general the ossicles act as a barrier to the inner ear for sound energy 25 Inner ear Inner ear fluid called endolymph receives the sound energy After receiving the energy The inner ear comprises two parts the cochlea that uses sound waves from the ossicles and the vestibular apparatus that manages the rabbit s position in regard to movement Within the cochlea a basilar membrane contains sensory hair structures that send nerve signals to the brain allowing it to recognize different sound frequencies Within the vestibular apparatus three semicircular canals help detect angular motion 25 Dewlaps nbsp A palomino rabbit displaying her dewlap beside a month old kitA dewlap is a longitudinal flap of skin or similar flesh that hangs beneath the lower jaw or neck It is a secondary sex characteristic in rabbits caused by the presence of female sex hormones They develop with puberty A female rabbit who has been neutered before reaching sexual maturity will not develop a dewlap and even if a doe is neutered after developing a dewlap the dewlap will gradually disappear over several months This also aligns with the results of injecting male rabbits with female sex hormones specifically the ones from pregnant women s urine The male rabbits developed dewlaps which then gradually disappeared once administration had ceased 26 This is not the process of the rabbit test a common way to test for human female pregnancy in the 20th century the pregnancy test involved dissecting female rabbits after injection with urine to see if their ovaries had enlarged 27 While it is unclear exactly what function a dewlap performs pregnant female rabbits will pluck fur from their dewlaps shortly before giving birth to line a nest for their young 28 Thermoregulation nbsp The blood flow through the rabbit s large ears help with thermoregulation Thermoregulation is the process that an organism uses to maintain an optimal body temperature independent of external conditions 29 This process is carried out by the pinnae which takes up most of the rabbit s body surface and contain a vascular network and arteriovenous shunts 30 In a rabbit the optimal body temperature is around 38 5 40 0 C 101 3 104 0 F 31 If their body temperature exceeds or does not meet this optimal temperature the rabbit must return to homeostasis Homeostasis of body temperature is maintained by the use of their large highly vascularized ears that are able to change the amount of blood flow that passes through the ears Respiratory system nbsp Ventral view of dissected rabbit lungs with key structures labeledThe rabbit s nasal cavity lies dorsal to the oral cavity and the two compartments are separated by the hard and soft palate 32 The nasal cavity itself is separated into a left and right side by a cartilage barrier and it is covered in fine hairs that trap dust before it can enter the respiratory tract 32 33 page needed As the rabbit breathes air flows in through the nostrils along the alar folds From there the air moves into the nasal cavity also known as the nasopharynx down through the trachea through the larynx and into the lungs 33 page needed 34 The larynx functions as the rabbit s voice box which enables it to produce a wide variety of sounds 33 page needed The trachea is a long tube embedded with cartilaginous rings that prevent the tube from collapsing as air moves in and out of the lungs The trachea then splits into a left and right bronchus which meet the lungs at a structure called the hilum From there the bronchi split into progressively more narrow and numerous branches The bronchi branch into bronchioles into respiratory bronchioles and ultimately terminate at the alveolar ducts The branching that is typically found in rabbit lungs is a clear example of monopodial branching in which smaller branches divide out laterally from a larger central branch 35 The structure of the rabbit s nasal and oral cavities necessitates breathing through the nose This is due to the fact that the epiglottis is fixed to the backmost portion of the soft palate 34 Within the oral cavity a layer of tissue sits over the opening of the glottis which blocks airflow from the oral cavity to the trachea 32 The epiglottis functions to prevent the rabbit from aspirating on its food Further the presence of a soft and hard palate allow the rabbit to breathe through its nose while it feeds 33 page needed nbsp Monopodial branching as seen in dissected rabbit lungsRabbits lungs are divided into four lobes the cranial middle caudal and accessory lobes The right lung is made up of all four lobes while the left lung only has two the cranial and caudal lobes 35 To provide space for the heart the left cranial lobe of the lungs is significantly smaller than that of the right 32 The diaphragm is a muscular structure that lies caudal to the lungs and contracts to facilitate respiration 32 34 Digestion Main article Cecotrope Easily digestible food is processed in the gastrointestinal tract and expelled as regular feces But in order to get nutrients out of hard to digest fiber rabbits ferment fiber in the cecum in the GI tract and then expel the contents as cecotropes which are reingested cecotrophy The cecotropes are then absorbed in the small intestine to utilize the nutrients 9 36 nbsp Dissected image of the male rabbit reproductive system with key structures labeledBecause rabbits cannot vomit 37 if buildup occurs within the intestines due often to a diet with insufficient fibre 38 intestinal blockage can occur 39 Reproduction nbsp Diagram of the male rabbit reproductive system with main components labeledThe adult male reproductive system forms the same as most mammals with the seminiferous tubular compartment containing the Sertoli cells and an adluminal compartment that contains the Leydig cells 40 The Leydig cells produce testosterone which maintains libido 40 and creates secondary sex characteristics such as the genital tubercle and penis The Sertoli cells triggers the production of Anti Mullerian duct hormone which absorbs the Mullerian duct In an adult male rabbit the sheath of the penis is cylinder like and can be extruded as early as two months of age 41 The scrotal sacs lay lateral to the penis and contain epididymal fat pads which protect the testes Between 10 and 14 weeks the testes descend and are able to retract into the pelvic cavity to thermoregulate 41 Furthermore the secondary sex characteristics such as the testes are complex and secrete many compounds These compounds include fructose citric acid minerals and a uniquely high amount of catalase 40 nbsp Diagram of the female rabbit reproductive system with main components labeledThe adult female reproductive tract is bipartite which prevents an embryo from translocating between uteri 42 The two uterine horns communicate to two cervixes and forms one vaginal canal Along with being bipartite the female rabbit does not go through an estrus cycle which causes mating induced ovulation 41 The average female rabbit becomes sexually mature at three to eight months of age and can conceive at any time of the year for the duration of her life Egg and sperm production can begin to decline after three years 40 During mating the male rabbit will mount the female rabbit from behind and insert his penis into the female and make rapid pelvic hip thrusts The encounter lasts only 20 40 seconds and after the male will throw himself backwards off the female 43 The rabbit gestation period is short and ranges from 28 to 36 days with an average period of 31 days A longer gestation period will generally yield a smaller litter while shorter gestation periods will give birth to a larger litter The size of a single litter can range from four to 12 kits allowing a female to deliver up to 60 new kits a year After birth the female can become pregnant again as early as the next day 41 After mating in some species hormonal changes will cause the doe to begin to dig a burrow for her nest about a week before giving birth Between three days and a few hours before giving birth another series of hormonal changes will cause her to prepare the nest structure The doe will first gather grass for a structure and an elevation in prolactin shortly before birth will cause her fur to shed that the doe will then use to line the nest providing insulation for the newborn kits 44 The mortality rates of embryos are high in rabbits and can be due to infection trauma poor nutrition and environmental stress so a high fertility rate is necessary to counter this 41 Sleep Further information Sleep non human Rabbits may appear to be crepuscular but their natural inclination is toward nocturnal activity 45 In 2011 the average sleep time of a rabbit in captivity was calculated at 8 4 hours per day 46 As with other prey animals rabbits often sleep with their eyes open so that sudden movements will awaken the rabbit to respond to potential danger 47 Diseases and immunity See also Category Rabbit diseases In addition to being at risk of disease from common pathogens such as Bordetella bronchiseptica and Escherichia coli rabbits can contract the virulent species specific viruses RHD rabbit hemorrhagic disease a form of calicivirus 48 or myxomatosis Among the parasites that infect rabbits are tapeworms such as Taenia serialis external parasites including fleas and mites coccidia species and Toxoplasma gondii 49 50 Domesticated rabbits with a diet lacking in high fiber sources such as hay and grass are susceptible to potentially lethal gastrointestinal stasis 51 Rabbits and hares are almost never found to be infected with rabies and have not been known to transmit rabies to humans 52 Encephalitozoon cuniculi a microsporidial parasite is capable of infecting many mammals including rabbits 53 Rabbit immunity has significantly diverged from other tetrapods in the manner in which it employs immunoglobulin light chains 54 55 In one case McCartney Francis et al 1984 discover a unique additional disulfide bond between Cys 80 in Vk and Cys 171 in Ck 54 55 They suggest that this may serve to stabilise rabbit antibodies 54 55 Meanwhile IGKC1 shows high amino acid divergence between domesticated types and ferals derived from them 55 This can be as high as 40 55 Rabbit hemorrhagic disease RHD is caused by strains of rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus RHDV including type 2 RHDV2 56 RHDV2 was detected for the first time in Washington state US in May 2022 and then in August once in Washington and twice in Oregon 57 Since then it has spread to many states in the Unites States Ecology nbsp Rabbit kits one hour after birthRabbits are prey animals and are therefore constantly aware of their surroundings For instance in Mediterranean Europe rabbits are the main prey of red foxes badgers and Iberian lynxes 58 If confronted by a potential threat a rabbit may freeze and observe then warn others in the warren with powerful thumps on the ground Rabbits have a remarkably wide field of vision and a good deal of it is devoted to overhead scanning 59 The doe mother is aware that she gives off scent which can attract predators so she will stay away from the nest to avoid putting the kits babies in danger returning the nest only a few times a day to feed the kits 60 Rabbits survive predation by burrowing some species hopping away in a zig zag motion and if captured delivering powerful kicks with their hind legs Their strong teeth allow them to bite to escape a struggle 61 The longest lived rabbit on record a domesticated European rabbit living in Tasmania died at age 18 62 The lifespan of wild rabbits is much shorter the average longevity of an eastern cottontail for instance is less than one year 63 Habitat and range nbsp Domestic rabbit photographed at Alligator Bay Beauvoir FranceRabbit habitats include meadows woods forests grasslands deserts and wetlands 64 While some rabbits live solitary lives others live in groups and the European rabbit lives in burrows or rabbit holes A group of burrows is called a warren 64 More than half of the world s rabbit population resides in North America 64 They are also native to southwestern Europe Southeast Asia Sumatra some islands of Japan and parts of Africa and South America They are not naturally found in most of Eurasia where a number of species of hares are present Rabbits first entered South America relatively recently as part of the Great American Interchange Much of the continent has just one species of rabbit the tapeti while most of South America s Southern Cone has no rabbits The European rabbit has been introduced to many places around the world 12 A recent study found that the so called Chinese rabbits were introduced from Europe Genetic diversity in Chinese rabbits was very low 65 Rabbits have been launched into space orbit 66 Environmental problems See also Rabbits in Australia nbsp Impact of rabbit proof fence Cobar New South Wales 1905Rabbits have been a source of environmental problems when introduced into the wild by humans As a result of their appetites and the rate at which they breed feral rabbit depredation can be problematic for agriculture Gassing fumigation of warrens 67 barriers fences shooting snaring and ferreting have been used to control rabbit populations but the most effective measures are diseases such as myxomatosis myxo or mixi colloquially 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 it could create a population boom as those diseases are the most serious threats to rabbit survival Rabbits in Australia and New Zealand are considered to be such a pest that land owners are legally obliged to control them 68 69 Rabbits are known to be able to catch fire and spread wildfires but the efficiency and relevance of this method has been doubted by forest experts who contend that a rabbit on fire could move some meters 70 71 Knowledge on fire spreading rabbits is based on anecdotes as there is no known scientific investigation on the subject 71 As food and clothingMain article Cuniculture See also Category Rabbit dishes In some areas wild rabbits and hares are hunted for their meat a lean source of high quality protein 72 In the wild such hunting is accomplished with the aid of trained falcons ferrets or dogs as well as with snares or other traps and rifles A caught rabbit may be dispatched with a sharp blow to the back of its head a practice from which the term rabbit punch is derived Wild leporids comprise a small portion of global rabbit meat consumption Domesticated descendants of the European rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus that are bred and kept as livestock a practice called cuniculture account for the estimated 200 million tons of rabbit meat produced annually 73 Approximately 1 2 billion rabbits are slaughtered each year for meat worldwide 74 In 1994 the countries with the highest consumption per capita of rabbit meat were Malta with 8 89 kg 19 6 lb Italy with 5 71 kg 12 6 lb and Cyprus with 4 37 kg 9 6 lb falling to 0 03 kg 0 07 lb in Japan The figure for the United States was 0 14 kg 0 31 lb per capita The largest producers of rabbit meat in 1994 were China Russia Italy France and Spain 75 Rabbit meat was once a common commodity in Sydney but declined after the myxomatosis virus was intentionally introduced to control the exploding population of feral rabbits in the area In the United Kingdom fresh rabbit is sold in butcher shops and markets and some supermarkets sell frozen rabbit meat At farmers markets there including the famous Borough Market in London rabbit carcasses are sometimes displayed hanging unbutchered in the traditional style next to braces of pheasant or other small game Rabbit meat is a feature of Moroccan cuisine where it is cooked in a tajine with raisins and grilled almonds added a few minutes before serving 76 In China rabbit meat is particularly popular in Sichuan cuisine with its stewed rabbit spicy diced rabbit BBQ style rabbit and even spicy rabbit heads which have been compared to spicy duck neck 73 Rabbit meat is comparatively unpopular elsewhere in the Asia Pacific An extremely rare infection associated with rabbits as food is tularemia also known as rabbit fever which may be contracted from an infected rabbit 77 Inhaling the bacteria during the skinning process increases the risk of getting tularemia In addition to their meat rabbits are used for their wool fur and pelts as well as their nitrogen rich manure and their high protein milk 78 Production industries have developed domesticated rabbit breeds such as the well known Angora rabbit for the purpose of these needs BehaviorsBinkies also more generally called zoomies 79 in rabbits are characterized by a sudden kick with their hind legs shaking their heads sideways usually mid air and running around rapidly Another term is half binky which is characterized by a shorter span and a sharp flick of the head Both types of binkies indicate happiness or excitement All of which typically only last for around a second A rabbit might do quick rapid multiple binkies in one session It is thought to be a practice run in case they need to escape from danger 80 Binkies more commonly occur in domesticated rabbits living in a comfortable environment 81 Rabbits mostly use full body actions like flopping to communicate emotion to other rabbits and humans Rabbits flopping in front of other rabbits can be meant as a non aggressive insult 82 83 Rabbits commonly smell the ground first then tilt their head to the side with a subtle jerky movement in order to lie down to its side which exposes their belly They may thump their hind feet on the ground to signal other rabbits that they re feeling threatened or that potential dangers are near their territory Some domesticated rabbits might thump to get their owner s attention Not all rabbits thump 84 Both sexes of rabbits often rub their chins on objects or people with their scent gland located under the chin This is the rabbit s way of marking their territory or possessions for other rabbits to recognize by depositing scent gland secretions It might also serve as a reminder for the rabbit to return and investigate the object later helping them navigate in the dark and to help them in their recollection of where they have been Rabbits who have bonded will respect each other s smell which indicates a territorial border 85 86 In cultureMain article Rabbits and hares in art This section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section Unsourced material may be challenged and removed October 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message Rabbits are often posited by scholars as symbols of fertility and spring The Easter Bunny is a figure from Lutheran German folklore that then spread to America and later other parts of the world and is similar to Santa Claus The rabbits role as a prey animal with few defenses evokes vulnerability and innocence and in folklore and modern children s stories rabbits often appear as sympathetic characters able to connect easily with youth of all kinds for example the Velveteen Rabbit or Thumper in Bambi With its reputation as a prolific breeder the rabbit juxtaposes sexuality with innocence as in the Playboy Bunny The rabbit is also known for its speed agility and endurance symbolized for example by the marketing icons the Energizer Bunny and the Duracell Bunny Folklore Main article List of fictional hares and rabbits The rabbit often appears in folklore as the trickster archetype as he uses his cunning to outwit his enemies In Aztec mythology a pantheon of four hundred rabbit gods known as Centzon Totochtin led by Ometochtli or Two Rabbit represented fertility parties and drunkenness In Central Africa the common hare Kalulu is inevitably described as a trickster figure 87 In Chinese folklore rabbits accompany Chang e on the Moon In the Chinese New Year the zodiacal rabbit is one of the twelve celestial animals in the Chinese zodiac Note that the Vietnamese zodiac includes a zodiacal cat in place of the rabbit possibly because rabbits did not inhabit Vietnam citation needed The most common explanation is that the ancient Vietnamese word for rabbit mao sounds like the Chinese word for cat 卯 mao 88 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 pounding on an usu a Japanese mortar In Jewish folklore rabbits shfanim שפנים are associated with cowardice a usage still current in contemporary Israeli spoken Hebrew similar to the English colloquial use of chicken to denote cowardice In Korean mythology as in Japanese rabbits live on the moon making rice cakes Tteok in Korean In Anishinaabe traditional beliefs held by the Ojibwe and some other Native American peoples Nanabozho or Great Rabbit is an important deity related to the creation of the world A Vietnamese myth portrays the rabbit as innocent and youthful The gods of the myth are shown to be hunting and killing rabbits to show off their power Buddhism Christianity and Judaism have associations with an ancient circular motif called the three rabbits or three hares Its meaning ranges from peace and tranquility to purity or the Holy Trinity to Kabbalistic levels of the soul or to the Jewish diaspora The tripartite symbol also appears in heraldry and even tattoos The rabbit as trickster is a part of American popular culture as Br er Rabbit from African American folktales and later Disney animation and Bugs Bunny the cartoon character from Warner Bros for example Anthropomorphized rabbits have appeared in film and literature in Alice s Adventures in Wonderland the White Rabbit and the March Hare characters in Watership Down including the film and television adaptations in Rabbit Hill by Robert Lawson and in the Peter Rabbit stories by Beatrix Potter In the 1920s Oswald the Lucky Rabbit was a popular cartoon character A rabbit s foot may be carried as an amulet believed to bring protection and good luck This belief is found in many parts of the world with the earliest use being recorded in Europe c 600 BC 89 On the Isle of Portland in Dorset UK the rabbit is said to be unlucky and speaking the creature s name can cause upset among older island residents This is thought to date back to early times in the local quarrying industry where to save space extracted stones that were not fit for sale were set aside in what became tall unstable walls The local rabbits tendency to burrow there would weaken the walls and their collapse would result in injuries or even death In the local culture to this day the rabbit when he has to be referred to may instead be called a long ears or underground mutton so as not to risk bringing a downfall upon oneself 90 In other parts of Britain and in North America Rabbit rabbit rabbit is one variant of an apotropaic or talismanic superstition that involves saying or repeating the word rabbit or rabbits or white rabbits or some combination thereof out loud upon waking on the first day of each month because doing so is believed to ensure good fortune for the duration of that month 91 The rabbit test is a term first used in 1949 for the Friedman test an early diagnostic tool for detecting a pregnancy in humans It is a common misconception or perhaps an urban legend that the test rabbit would die if the woman was pregnant This led to the phrase the rabbit died becoming a euphemism for a positive pregnancy test 92 Many modern children s stories and cartoons portray rabbits as particularly fond of eating carrots This is a myth as wild rabbits do not naturally seek out carrots over other plants and in fact eating too much carrot is harmful for them because of its high sugar content 93 This led to some owners feeding them mostly carrots based on this false perception 94 95 nbsp Rabbit fools Elephant by showing the reflection of the moon Illustration from 1354 of the Panchatantra nbsp Three rabbits motif Coat of arms of Corbenay France nbsp Beatrix Potter s Peter Rabbit nbsp WWII USAF pilot D R Emerson with a rabbit s foot talisman a gift from a New York girl friend nbsp Saint Jerome in the Desert by Taddeo Crivelli died about 1479 Note rabbit being chased by a domesticated hound See also nbsp Lagomorpha portalAnimal track Cuniculture Dwarf rabbit Hare games Jackalope Lethal dwarfism in rabbits List of animal names List of rabbit breeds Lop rabbit Rabbits in the arts Rabbit show jumpingReferencesNotes This genus is a hare not a rabbit Citations Data export DAD IS Domestic Animal Diversity Information System FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations 21 November 2017 Retrieved 30 March 2018 coney Online Etymology Dictionary Retrieved 2 March 2018 The Collective Noun Page Archived from the original on 1 February 2008 Retrieved 30 January 2008 McClure Diane 2018 Breeding and Reproduction of Rabbits Merck Veterinary Manual Archived from the original on 6 January 2018 Retrieved 5 January 2018 Common Questions What Do You Call a Group of archived copy of Animal Congregations or What Do You Call a Group of U S Geological Survey Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center Archived from the original on 20 March 2015 Retrieved 26 February 2018 rabbit Online Etymology Dictionary Retrieved 15 July 2021 Irving Pease Evan K Frantz Laurent A F Sykes Naomi Callou Cecile Larson Greger 2018 Rabbits and the Specious Origins of Domestication Trends in Ecology amp Evolution 33 3 149 152 doi 10 1016 j tree 2017 12 009 ISSN 0169 5347 PMID 29454669 S2CID 3380288 Brown Louise 2001 How to Care for Your Rabbit Kingdom Books p 6 ISBN 978 1 85279 167 4 a b Katherine Quesenberry amp James W Carpenter Ferrets Rabbits and Rodents Clinical Medicine and Surgery 3rd ed 2012 d Ovidio Dario Pierantoni Ludovica Noviello Emilio Pirrone Federica September 2016 Sex differences in human directed social behavior in pet rabbits Journal of Veterinary Behavior 15 37 42 doi 10 1016 j jveb 2016 08 072 van Praag Esther 2005 Deformed claws in a rabbit after traumatic fractures PDF MediRabbit a b rabbit Encyclopaedia Britannica Standard ed Chicago Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc 2007 What do Rabbits See Archived from the original on 23 September 2015 Retrieved 9 August 2013 Bensley Benjamin Arthur 1910 Practical anatomy of the rabbit The University Press p 1 rabbit skeletal anatomy Description and Physical Characteristics of Rabbits All Other Pets Merck Veterinary Manual Merck Veterinary Manual Retrieved 11 May 2018 D A B V P Margaret A Wissman D V M Rabbit Anatomy exoticpetvet net Retrieved 11 May 2018 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint multiple names authors list link Susan Lumpkin Seidensticker John 2011 Rabbits the animal answer guide Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press ISBN 978 1 4214 0126 3 OCLC 794700391 Geiser Max Trueta Joseph May 1958 Muscle action bone rarefaction and bone formation The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery British Volume 40 B 2 282 311 doi 10 1302 0301 620X 40B2 282 PMID 13539115 Lieber Richard L Blevins Field T January 1989 Skeletal muscle architecture of the rabbit hindlimb Functional implications of muscle design Journal of Morphology 199 1 93 101 doi 10 1002 jmor 1051990108 PMID 2921772 S2CID 25344889 Hall E Raymond 2001 The Mammals of North America The Blackburn Press ISBN 978 1 930665 35 4 Bensley Benjamin Arthur 1910 Practical anatomy of the rabbit The University Press Meyer D L 1971 Single Unit Responses of Rabbit Ear Muscles to Postural and Accelerative Stimulation Experimental Brain Research 14 2 118 26 doi 10 1007 BF00234795 PMID 5016586 S2CID 6466476 Capello Vittorio 2006 Lateral Ear Canal Resection and Ablation in Pet Rabbits PDF The North American Veterinary Conference 20 1711 1713 Vella David 2012 Ferrets Rabbits and Rodents Clinical Medicine and Surgery Elsevier ISBN 978 1 4160 6621 7 a b c Parsons Paige K 2018 Rabbit Ears A Structural Look injury or disease can send your rabbit into a spin House Rabbit Society Hu C k Frazier C N 1 February 1938 Relationship Between Female Sex Hormone and Dewlap in the Rabbit Experimental Biology and Medicine 38 1 116 119 doi 10 3181 00379727 38 9761 ISSN 1535 3702 S2CID 87987542 Howe Marvine 10 March 1991 Dr Maurice Friedman 87 Dies Created Rabbit Pregnancy Test The New York Times Vennen Kristine M Mitchell Mark A 1 January 2009 Mitchell Mark A Tully Thomas N eds Rabbits Manual of Exotic Pet Practice Saint Louis W B Saunders 375 405 doi 10 1016 b978 141600119 5 50017 2 ISBN 978 1 4160 0119 5 PMC 7152457 Romanovsky A A March 2014 Skin temperature its role in thermoregulation Acta Physiologica 210 3 498 507 doi 10 1111 apha 12231 PMC 4159593 PMID 24716231 Vella David 2012 Ferrets Rabbits and Rodents Clinical Medicine and Surgery Elsevier ISBN 978 1 4160 6621 7 page needed Fayez I Marai M Alnaimy A Habeeb M 1994 Thermoregulation in rabbits In Baselga M Marai I F M eds Rabbit production in hot climates Zaragoza CIHEAM pp 33 41 a b c d e Johnson Delaney Cathy A Orosz Susan E 2011 Rabbit Respiratory System Clinical Anatomy Physiology and Disease Veterinary Clinics of North America Exotic Animal Practice 14 2 257 266 doi 10 1016 j cvex 2011 03 002 PMID 21601814 a b c d Smith David G 2019 A dissection guide amp atlas to the rabbit Morton ISBN 978 1 61731 937 2 OCLC 1084742187 a b c Jekl Vladimi 2012 Approach to Rabbit Respiratory Disease WSAVA FECAVA BSAVA World Congress As obligate nasal breathers rabbits with upper airway disease will attempt to breathe through their mouths which prevents feeding and drinking and could be quickly fatal a b Autifi Mohamed Abdul Haye El Banna Ahmed Kamal Ebaid Ashraf El Sayed 2015 Morphological Study of Rabbit Lung Bronchial Tree and Pulmonary Vessels Using Corrosion Cast Technique Al Azhar Assiut Medical Journal 13 3 41 51 Exploring a Rabbit s Unique Digestive System Rabbits for Dummies Retrieved 14 August 2013 Bernard E Rollin 13 March 1995 The Experimental Animal in Biomedical Research Care Husbandry and Well Being An Overview by Species Volume 2 CRC Press p 359 ISBN 978 0 8493 4982 9 Karr Lilienthal Phd University of Nebraska Lincoln Lisa 4 November 2011 The Digestive System of the Rabbit eXtension a Part of the Cooperative Extension Service Archived from the original on 6 January 2018 Retrieved 5 January 2018 Living with a House Rabbit Archived from the original on 21 September 2017 Retrieved 21 September 2017 a b c d Foote Robert H Carney Edward W 2000 The rabbit as a model for reproductive and developmental toxicity studies Reproductive Toxicology 14 6 477 493 doi 10 1016 s0890 6238 00 00101 5 ISSN 0890 6238 PMID 11099874 a b c d e Rabbit Reproduction Basics LafeberVet 5 May 2014 Retrieved 6 May 2019 Weisbroth Steven H Flatt Ronald E Kraus Alan L 1974 The Biology of the Laboratory Rabbit doi 10 1016 c2013 0 11681 9 ISBN 978 0 12 742150 6 Understanding the Mating Process for Breeding Rabbits florida4h org Retrieved 12 April 2019 Benedek I Altbӓcker V Molnar T 2021 Stress reactivity near birth affects nest building timing and offspring number and survival in the European rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus PLOS ONE 16 1 e0246258 Bibcode 2021PLoSO 1646258B doi 10 1371 journal pone 0246258 PMC 7845978 PMID 33513198 Jilge B 1991 The rabbit a diurnal or a nocturnal animal Journal of Experimental Animal Science 34 5 6 170 183 PMID 1814463 40 Winks Jennifer S Holland National Geographic Vol 220 No 1 July 2011 Wright Samantha 2011 For The Love of Parsley A Guide To Your Rabbit s Most Common Behaviours Lulu pp 35 36 ISBN 978 1 4467 9111 0 Cooke Brian Douglas 2014 Australia s War Against Rabbits CSIRO Publishing ISBN 978 0 643 09612 7 Archived from the original on 7 June 2014 Wood Maggie Parasites of Rabbits Chicago Exotics PC Archived from the original on 2 March 2013 Retrieved 8 April 2013 Boschert Ken Internal Parasites of Rabbits Net Vet Archived from the original on 2 April 2013 Retrieved 8 April 2013 Krempels Dana GastroIntestinal Stasis The Silent Killer Department of Biology at the University of Miami Archived from the original on 19 June 2017 Retrieved 21 September 2017 Rabies Other Wild Animals Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 15 November 2011 Archived from the original on 20 December 2010 Retrieved 20 December 2012 Latney La Toya 2014 Encephalitozoon cuniculi in pet rabbits diagnosis and optimal management Veterinary Medicine Auckland N Z 5 169 180 doi 10 2147 VMRR S49842 PMC 7337189 PMID 32670857 a b c Weber Justus Peng Haiyong Rader Christoph 2017 From rabbit antibody repertoires to rabbit monoclonal antibodies Experimental amp Molecular Medicine 49 3 Nature Portfolio e305 doi 10 1038 emm 2017 23 ISSN 2092 6413 PMC 5382564 PMID 28336958 S2CID 4066391 Mage Rose G Lanning Dennis Knight Katherine L 2006 B cell and antibody repertoire development in rabbits The requirement of gut associated lymphoid tissues Developmental amp Comparative Immunology 30 1 2 Elsevier 137 153 doi 10 1016 j dci 2005 06 017 ISSN 0145 305X PMID 16098588 Conrath K E Wernery U Muyldermans S Nguyen V K 2003 Emergence and evolution of functional heavy chain antibodies in Camelidae Developmental amp Comparative Immunology 27 2 Elsevier 87 103 doi 10 1016 s0145 305x 02 00071 x ISSN 0145 305X PMID 12543123 Davis Mark M 1985 Molecular Genetics of the T Cell Receptor Beta Chain Annual Review of Immunology 3 1 Annual Reviews 537 560 doi 10 1146 annurev iy 03 040185 002541 ISSN 0732 0582 PMID 3933533 a b c d e Pinheiro Ana Neves Fabiana Lemos de Matos Ana Abrantes Joana van der Loo Wessel Mage Rose Esteves Pedro Jose 23 September 2015 An overview of the lagomorph immune system and its genetic diversity Immunogenetics 68 2 Springer 83 107 doi 10 1007 s00251 015 0868 8 ISSN 0093 7711 PMID 26399242 S2CID 18131774 Rabbit hemorrhagic disease American Veterinary Medical Association Retrieved 7 August 2022 Deadly rabbit disease confirmed in Thurston County vets urge vaccination Washington State Department of Agriculture 25 September 2020 Retrieved 7 August 2022 Fedriani J M Palomares F Delibes M 1999 Niche relations among three sympatric Mediterranean carnivores PDF Oecologia 121 1 138 148 Bibcode 1999Oecol 121 138F CiteSeerX 10 1 1 587 7215 doi 10 1007 s004420050915 JSTOR 4222449 PMID 28307883 S2CID 39202154 Archived PDF from the original on 4 March 2016 Tynes Valarie V Behavior of Exotic Pets Archived 6 May 2016 at the Wayback Machine Wiley Blackwell 2010 p 70 How To Keep A Wild Baby Rabbit Alive Rabbit Care Tips Rabbitcaretips com 24 February 2021 Retrieved 30 June 2022 Davis Susan E and DeMello Margo Stories Rabbits Tell A Natural And Cultural History of A Misunderstood Creature Archived 6 May 2016 at the Wayback Machine Lantern Books 2003 p 27 Glenday Craig 2013 Guinness World Records 2014 Guinness World Records Limited pp 043 ISBN 978 1 908843 15 9 Cottontail rabbit at Indiana Department of Natural Resources Archived 17 November 2016 at the Wayback Machine a b c Rabbit Habitats Archived from the original on 4 August 2009 Retrieved 7 July 2009 Long J R Qiu X P Zeng F T Tang L M Zhang Y P April 2003 Origin of rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus in China evidence from mitochondrial DNA control region sequence analysis Animal Genetics 34 2 82 87 doi 10 1046 j 1365 2052 2003 00945 x PMID 12648090 Beischer DE Fregly AR 1962 Animals and man in space A chronology and annotated bibliography through the year 1960 US Naval School of Aviation Medicine ONR TR ACR 64 AD0272581 Archived from the original on 11 August 2015 Retrieved 14 June 2011 a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a CS1 maint unfit URL link Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development Agriculture and Food Division Pest and Disease Information Service PaDIS Rabbit control fumigation agric wa gov au Government of Western Australia Retrieved 25 September 2021 Feral animals in Australia Invasive species Environment gov au 1 February 2010 Archived from the original on 21 July 2010 Retrieved 30 August 2010 Rabbits The role of government Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand Teara govt nz 1 March 2009 Archived from the original on 12 June 2011 Retrieved 30 August 2010 Jerez Sara 23 February 2023 Es cierto Experto confirma que conejos y otros animales en llamas si pueden propagar incendios Radio Bio Bio in Spanish Retrieved 23 February 2023 a b del Mar Parra Maria 23 February 2023 Experto forestal Los conejos no son un agente significativo de propagacion de incendios El Desconcierto in Spanish Retrieved 23 February 2023 Rabbit From Farm to Table Archived from the original on 5 July 2008 a b Olivia Geng French Rabbit Heads The Newest Delicacy in Chinese Cuisine Archived 14 July 2017 at the Wayback Machine The Wall Street Journal Blog 13 June 2014 FAOSTAT FAO Retrieved 25 October 2019 FAO The Rabbit Husbandry health and production Archived 23 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine Traditional Moroccan Cooking Recipes from Fez by Madame Guinadeau Serif London 2003 ISBN 1 897959 43 5 Tularemia Rabbit fever Health utah gov 16 June 2003 Archived from the original on 26 May 2010 Retrieved 30 August 2010 Houdebine Louis Marie Fan Jianglin 1 June 2009 Rabbit Biotechnology Rabbit Genomics Transgenesis Cloning and Models シュプリンガー ジャパン株式会社 pp 68 72 ISBN 978 90 481 2226 4 Archived from the original on 26 April 2014 Retrieved 26 February 2018 Zoomies explained Blog Burgess Pet Care Retrieved 9 March 2024 Claire Speight RVN 5 June 2022 Bunny binkies Why rabbits binky and how to encourage it PetsRadar Retrieved 1 October 2023 Harding Bryan 24 February 2021 Why Do Rabbits Binky North American Nature Retrieved 1 October 2023 Carter Lou 17 August 2020 Why Does My Rabbit Flop Over Bunny Flopping Meaning Rabbit Care Tips Retrieved 1 October 2023 Binkies Nose Bonks and Flops Rabbit Behavior My House Rabbit Retrieved 1 October 2023 Why Do Rabbits Thump Lafeber Co Small Mammals Retrieved 1 October 2023 Carter Lou 31 August 2019 Why is My Rabbit Chinning Everything Rabbit Care Tips Retrieved 1 October 2023 Hoffman Kurt L Hernandez Decasa D M Beyer Ruiz M E Gonzalez Mariscal Gabriela 5 March 2010 Scent marking by the male domestic rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus is stimulated by an object s novelty and its specific visual or tactile characteristics Behavioural Brain Research 207 2 360 367 doi 10 1016 j bbr 2009 10 021 ISSN 0166 4328 PMID 19857527 S2CID 10827948 Brian Morris The Power of Animals An Ethnography p 177 2000 Year of the Cat OR Year of the Rabbit nwasianweekly com 3 February 2011 Retrieved 27 February 2018 Ellis Bill 1 January 2004 Lucifer Ascending The Occult in Folklore and Popular Culture University Press of Kentucky ISBN 978 0 8131 2289 2 Wallace and Gromit spook island BBC News 7 October 2005 Retrieved 25 August 2022 Mayntz Melissa 26 April 2019 On the 1st Of The Month Say Rabbit Rabbit for Good luck Farmers Almanac Plan Your Day Grow Your Life Retrieved 27 April 2023 Friedman Maurice 1 May 1939 The Assay of Gonadotropic Extracts in the Post Partum Rabbit11 Endocrinology 24 5 617 625 doi 10 1210 endo 24 5 617 Bittel Jason 19 February 2022 Think you know what bunnies and bears eat Their diets may surprise you Washington Post ISSN 0190 8286 Retrieved 10 March 2024 Rioja Lang Fiona Bacon Heather Connor Melanie Dwyer Cathy Mary 2019 Rabbit welfare determining priority welfare issues for pet rabbits using a modified Delphi method Veterinary Record Open 6 1 e000363 doi 10 1136 vetreco 2019 000363 ISSN 2399 2050 PMC 6924855 PMID 31903189 George Amber E Schatz J L 27 April 2016 Screening the Nonhuman Representations of Animal Others in the Media Lexington Books ISBN 978 1 4985 1375 3 Further readingWindling Terri The Symbolism of Rabbits and Hares usurped External links nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rabbits nbsp Wikiquote has quotations related to Rabbit nbsp Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica article Rabbit American Rabbit Breeders Association organization that encourages Cuniculture and promotes all phases of rabbit keeping Rabbit org Foundation organization that discourages Cuniculture and promotes keeping rabbits indoors Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Rabbit amp oldid 1218072896 Environmental problems, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.