Rabbits - හාවෝ
February is Adopt a Rescued Rabbit Month!
Join HRS in promoting rabbit rescue this month. This year, our theme is finding your rabbit (or yourself) a perfect match! Visit our press release to find out more, and to download posters and flyers for your shelter or rescue group's use!
Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world. There are seven different genera in the family classified as rabbits, including the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), Cottontail rabbit (genus Sylvilagus; 13 species), and the Amami rabbit (Pentalagus furnessi, endangered species on Amami Ōshima, Japan). There are many other species of rabbit, and these, along with pikas and hares, make up the order Lagomorpha.
Location and habitat
The rabbit lives in many areas around the world. Rabbits live in groups, and the best known species, the European rabbit lives in underground burrows, or rabbit holes. A group of burrows is called a warren. [1] Meadows, woods, forests, thickets, and grasslands are areas in which rabbits live.[1] They also inhabit deserts and wetlands. More than half the world's rabbit population resides in North America.[1] They also live in Europe, India, Sumatra, Japan, and parts of Africa. The European rabbit has been introduced to many places around the world.[2]
Characteristics and anatomy
The rabbit's long ears, which can be more than 10 cm (4 in) long, are probably an adaptation for detecting predators. They have large, powerful hind legs. Each foot has five toes, with one greatly reduced in size. They are digitigrade animals; they move around on the tips of their toes. Wild rabbits do not differ much in their body proportions or stance, with full, egg-shaped bodies. Their size can range anywhere from 20 cm (8 in) in length and 0.4 kg in weight to 50 cm (20 in) and more than 2 kg. The fur is most commonly long and soft, with colors such as shades of brown, gray, and buff. The tail is a little plume of brownish fur (white on top for cottontails).[2]
A wild Rabbit
Rabbit
Cute Rabbit
Wild Rabbit
Rabbit in a Rabbit Huch
Jack Rabbit
Female rabbits do not actually ovulate until after breeding. They have a bifurcated uterus and often, breeding can involve multiple acts that can result in multiple impregnations from different bucks (male rabbits). Males are commonly sterile during the heat of summer months.
A litter of rabbit kits (baby rabbits) can be as small as a single kit, ranging up to 12 or 13; however there have been litters as big as 18. The gestation period is 30–32 days.[6]
Environmental problems
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, wild rabbit depredation can be problematic for agriculture. Gassing, 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 are considered to be such a pest that land owners are legally obliged to control them.[citation needed]
As food
There are several health issues associated with the use of rabbits for meat, one of which is Tularemia or Rabbit Fever.[14] Another is so-called rabbit starvation, due most likely to essential fatty acid deficiencies in rabbit meat and synthesis limitations in human beings.
Rabbits are a favorite food item of large pythons, such as Burmese pythons and reticulated pythons, both in the wild, as well as pet pythons. A typical diet for example, for a pet Burmese python, is a rabbit once a week.[citation needed]
Rabbit pelts are sometimes used in for clothing and accessories, such as scarves or hats. Angora rabbits are bread for their long, fine hair, which can be sheared and harvested like sheep wool. Rabbits are very good producers of manure; additionally, their urine, being high in nitrogen, makes lemon trees very productive. Their milk may also be of great medicinal or nutritional benefit due to its high protein content.
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