Rabbits

A rabbit family is a buck, a doe and kits.
Rabbits have long ears and big back legs.
They eat plants.
Rabbits can run very fast.
Their fur is very soft.

The original rabbits were European rabbits, but there are now many breeds and colours of domestic rabbits.

Habitat and distribution (where they are found)
Wild rabbits are found in many places around the world, in many habitats, including woods , forests, grasslands, deserts and wetlands. In the wild they live in groups of up to 70 rabbits. They make homes under the ground in a series of tunnels called burrows. A group of burrows is called a warren. There are many entrances to a warren. European settlers brought rabbits to Australia, where because there weren’t any natural predators, their numbers increased to the point where they are now a pest. Many small native mammals are herbivores and burrow underground, so large numbers of rabbits mean competition for food and shelter.

Body and Appearance
A rabbit has long ears, which can be more than 10 cm long. Some kinds of rabbit have ears called lops which flop down. Rabbits have large, strong back legs. Each front foot has five toes, and each back foot has four. Rabbits move on the tips of their toes. Rabbits’ bodies can be 20 cm to 50 cm long, and they can weigh up to 2 kg. Their fur is generally long and soft, but varies according to the breed, and can be browns, greys or creamy colours or white. They have small tails, sometimes white on top. In their natural habitats, the number of predators meant that rabbits developed excellent hearing and speed.

Rabbits have two sets of incisor teeth, one behind the other. Their teeth grow constantly.

Diet
Rabbits are herbivores, which means they eat only plants. Plants are made up of cells that are hard to digest, so rabbits pass two different kinds of droppings , or poo. One kind is hard droppings that are the waste from plant stalks and the other is soft pellets that the rabbit eats straight away so that its body gets another chance to take nutrients from it.

Does have a large fold of skin under the chin, and when making a nest they pull fur from it to line the nest. After mating with a buck, a doe is pregnant for about 30 days and gives birth to a litter of between 4 and 12 kits. Kits are born small, blind and hairless. They feed on very nutritious milk from their mother’s body for about 4-5 weeks. When they are about 3 weeks old they leave the nest for periods of time.

Rabbits live for 8-10 years, although it has been known for some to live longer.

Uses
Rabbits are one of the most popular pets in the world. Rabbits are also raised for their fur and meat. The felt used to make some felt hats is made from rabbit fur. Rabbits in the wild are hunted.

Did you know?
Rabbits and hares look alike but are different.
Hares are larger, have longer ears and black markings on their fur.
Newborn hares are born with fur and are able to see.
Hares live in nests on the ground, not underground, and they do not live in groups.
Hares have not become domestic animals like rabbits have.

If you use any part of this in your own work, acknowledge this source in your bibliography like this:
Sydenham, S. & Thomas, R. Rabbits [Online] www.kidcyber.com.au (2009)