40 Amazing and Interesting Facts about Rabbit | Amazing Facts 4U
- Rabbits are territorial animals that live in loosely organized social groups. They enjoy the company of other rabbits.
- Rabbits and bunnies are the same animals.
- Rabbits live in meadows, woods, forests, grasslands, deserts, and wetlands.
- Male rabbits are referred to as “bucks” and female rabbits are referred to as “does”. A baby rabbit is called a kit.
- Rabbits were first domesticated in the 5th Century by monks in France.
- More than half the world’s population of rabbits live in North America.
- They live in warrens comprising of an intricate series of underground tunnels with different entrances and exits.
- Cotton Tail Rabbits live in above-ground nests.
- In the wild, warrens can be pretty big. One single warren in Europe had 450 rabbits and 2000 entrances!
- Although typically very quiet, rabbits do communicate vocally, with varying types of vocalizations communicating different messages
- When a rabbit is very happy, it expresses its joy by jumping up into the air, twisting and flicking its feet and head. This movement is known as a binky!
- Rabbits stand upright on their hind legs to give themselves a better vantage point to look for predators. They alert other rabbits to the presence of danger by thumping their hind legs.
- Rabbits have an excellent sense of smell, hearing, and vision. They have nearly 360° panoramic vision, allowing them to detect predators from all directions except a small blind-spot in front of their nose.
- Rabbits have good night vision and can see movement from long distances all around without moving the head.
- Rabbits have long ears which can be as long as 10 cm (4 in). Rabbits use their long ears to pick up sounds from every direction and can hear in two directions at once! The large surface area of their ears helps to regulate body temperature.
- Rabbit whiskers are as wide as the body so they can feel their way in tunnels and not get stuck.
- Rabbits’ noses twitch 20 to 120 times per minute faster when excited or stressed and slower when relaxed or sleeping.
- Amazingly Rabbits can sleep with their eyes open.
- Rabbits have extremely strong hind limbs which allow them to leap up to one-meter-high and three-meter long.
- Rabbits are natural runners and can reach speeds of up to 50 to 65 Km.
- Rabbits are different from hares. Hares live in above nests like Cotton Tail Rabbits. Hares are usually bigger with longer ears and a longer hind leg. Hares are born with their eyes open, hair covering their bodies, and they can run within a few minutes of birth, unlike Rabbits.
- Rabbits are most active at dawn and dusk. They usually eat around dusk.
- The average size of a rabbit litter is usually between 4 and 12 babies, which results after a short 30-day gestation. Male rabbits can reproduce as early as 7 months of age, and females as early as 4 months.
- In one year a single female rabbit is capable of producing an amazing 800 children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren!
- The largest litter of bunnies ever reported consisted of 24 kits.
- As the Rabbits multiply rapidly, they are a symbol of fertility and rebirth.
- Domesticated rabbits that people raise do not open their eyes until they reach about 2 weeks of age. Baby domestic rabbits are actually born fur-less.
- The average lifespan of a domesticated rabbit is around 5 to 8 years. The World’s oldest rabbit on record lived to be 16 years old.
- The average heart rate of a rabbit ranges between 130-325 beats per minute.
- Rabbits have 28 teeth. Amazingly, a rabbit’s teeth never stop growing throughout its life. Amazingly Rabbits chew 120 times a minute.
- Rabbits eat their droppings as they need to digest some of their food twice. The soft nutrient-packed droppings are from the first round while the hard, round pellets are from the second round of digestion.
- Rabbits only sweat on the pads of their feet.
- In general, rabbits are very clean animals that will groom themselves and even each other. You rarely need to give them a bath if kept as a pet.
- Rabbits are kept at pets in increasing numbers during the last 50 years. It is estimated that over 2 million U.S. households own a pet rabbit.
- Rabbits kept as pets should be kept in pairs. Companionship is key. Rabbits kept as pets should also be offered shelter and hiding places. Rabbits confined to open spaces with no protection will feel threatened.
- Rabbits are herbivores meaning they do not eat meat.
- Fiber, in the form of hay and grass, is the most vital food for rabbits and they can die without it. A diet based solely on vegetables, fruit, and carrots does not provide all the nutrients that rabbits need.
- Rabbits cannot vomit, so it is super important to feed them only proper healthy and fresh food.
- Digging is an innate and favorite pastime of rabbits, both wild and domesticated. You should provide them digging substitutes, such as a sand or earth pit.
- Domesticated rabbits should never be let out in the wild. They will not be able to survive.
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