[53] The longest-lived rabbit on record, a domesticated European rabbit living in Tasmania, died at age 18. More than half the world's rabbit population resides in North America.

As if that wasn't enough, the males tend to get frustrated when rebuffed by their mates (go figure) and bounce around erratically when discouraged. 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. After birth, the female can become pregnant again as early as the next day.

"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 will ensure good fortune for the duration of that month. In consequence, their diet contains large amounts of cellulose, which is hard to digest.

If the ambient temperature is either 15 degrees above or below the optimal body temperature, the blood vessels will dilate. [28][29] The larynx functions as the rabbit's voice box, which enables it to produce a wide variety of sounds.

Another theory is that the ears function as shock absorbers that could aid and stabilize rabbit's vision when fleeing predators, but this has typically only been seen in hares. The "rabbit test" is a term, first used in 1949, for the Friedman test, an early diagnostic tool for detecting a pregnancy in humans. [65] Production industries have developed domesticated rabbit breeds (such as the well-known Angora rabbit) to efficiently fill these needs. Rabbits run on their toes to gain the optimal stride during locomotion.

The figure for the United States was 0.14 kg (5 oz) per capita.

The European rabbit, which has been introduced on every continent except Antarctica, is familiar throughout the world as a wild prey animal and as a domesticated form of livestock and pet. FAO - The Rabbit - Husbandry, health and production.

Pages in category "Mythological rabbits and hares" The following 17 pages are in this category, out of 17 total. [citation needed] If the environment is relatively non-threatening, the rabbit will remain outdoors for many hours, grazing at intervals.

google_ad_height = 15; [56] They are also native to southwestern Europe, Southeast Asia, Sumatra, some islands of Japan, and in parts of Africa and South America. Rabbits reingest their own droppings (rather than chewing the cud as do cows and numerous other herbivores) to digest their food further and extract sufficient nutrients.

This legend became part of American folklore in the 18th century, when German immigrants settled in the eastern U.S. When the ears are constricted it again limits blood flow through the ears to conserve the optimal body temperature of the rabbit. 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.

However, recent DNA analysis and the discovery of a common ancestor has supported the view that they do share a common lineage, and thus rabbits and rodents are now often referred to together as members of the superorder Glires. They are not naturally found in most of Eurasia, where a number of species of hares are present.

For example, hares have a greater resistance to fatigue than cottontails.

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. Contrasted to cotton tailed rabbits, their ears are smaller and shorter, requiring predators to be closer to detect them before they can flee. From there, the bronchi split into progressively more narrow and numerous branches. This means that most of their digestion takes place in their large intestine and cecum.

Rabbits that generate less force, putting less stress on bones are more prone to osteoporosis due to bone rarefaction. 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. [27] 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. (Answer to Pop Quiz)", "Understanding the Mating Process for Breeding Rabbits", "GastroIntestinal Stasis, The Silent Killer", "Niche relations among three sympatric Mediterranean carnivores", Stories Rabbits Tell: A Natural And Cultural History of A Misunderstood Creature, Cottontail rabbit at Indiana Department of Natural Resources, "Feral animals in Australia — Invasive species", "Rabbits — The role of government — Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand", French Rabbit Heads: The Newest Delicacy in Chinese Cuisine. In medieval societies in Europe, the March hare was viewed as a major fertility symbol. [59] 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.

Rabbit is a trickster animal in most of the southeastern Native American tribes,and occasionally in some of the northeastern tribes as well.

[40], The average female rabbit becomes sexually mature at 3 to 8 months of age and can conceive at any time of the year for the duration of her life.

[11], The anatomy of rabbits' hind limbs are structurally similar to that of other land mammals and contribute to their specialized form of locomotion. Author and folklorist Suzanna Linton says, The English village of Dartmoor claims three hares in a circle as its symbol.

Instead, they have coarse compressed hair that offers protection. Rabbits solve this problem via a form of hindgut fermentation.

[39] 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. Although the phrase itself is often attributed to Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland adventures, it actually appears much earlier. [13] Rabbits do not have paw pads on their feet like most other animals that use digitigrade locomotion. 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).

A group of burrows is called a warren.[56]. Reality: Well cared-for indoor …

Rabbits first entered South America relatively recently, as part of the Great American Interchange.

[21] The rabbit's pinnae represent a fair part of the body surface area.

As livestock, rabbits are bred for their meat and fur. Indigenous languages

In the winter, the rabbit does the opposite and folds its ears in order to decrease its surface area to the ambient air which would decrease their body temperature.

In rabbits, the cecum is about 10 times bigger than the stomach and it along with the large intestine makes up roughly 40% of the rabbit's digestive tract.

Rabbits use their strong claws for digging and (along with their teeth) for defense.

The local rabbits' tendency to burrow there would weaken the walls and their collapse resulted in injuries or even death. It is a common misconception (or perhaps an urban legend) that the test-rabbit would die if the woman was pregnant. Within the cochlea there is a basilar membrane that contains sensory hair structures utilized to send nerve signals to the brain so it can recognize different sound frequencies. Because the rabbit's epiglottis is engaged over the soft palate except when swallowing, the rabbit is an obligate nasal breather. [28][27] As the rabbit breathes, air flows in through the nostrils along the alar folds.

The hind limbs of the rabbit are longer than the front limbs. The female of the species is superfecund and can conceive a second litter while still pregnant with a first. The bones of the hind limbs consist of long bones (the femur, tibia, fibula, and phalanges) as well as short bones (the tarsals).

[40] The scrotal sacs lay lateral to the penis and contain epididymal fat pads which protect the testes.

Male rabbits are called bucks; females are called does. [18] The rabbit is characterized by its shorter ears while hares are characterized by their longer ears. [45], 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)[46] or myxomatosis. This belief is found in many parts of the world, with the earliest use being recorded in Europe c. 600 BC.

", "Deformed claws in a rabbit, after traumatic fractures", "Description and Physical Characteristics of Rabbits - All Other Pets - Merck Veterinary Manual", "Muscle action, bone rarefaction and bone formation", "Lateral Ear Canal Resection and Ablation in Pet Rabbits", "Rabbit Ears: A Structural Look: ...injury or disease, can send your rabbit into a spin", "Skin temperature: its role in thermoregulation", "Morphological Study of Rabbit Lung, Bronchial Tree, and Pulmonary Vessels Using Corrosion Cast Technique", "Information for Rabbit Owners — Oak Tree Veterinary Centre", "True or False? The character of the "Easter bunny" first appeared in 16th-century German writings, which said that if well-behaved children built a nest out of their caps or bonnets, they would be rewarded with colored eggs left in the night by an Easter Hare. [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. [61] In 1994, the countries with the highest consumption per capita of rabbit meat were Malta with 8.89 kg (19 lb 10 oz), Italy with 5.71 kg (12 lb 9 oz), and Cyprus with 4.37 kg (9 lb 10 oz), falling to 0.03 kg (1 oz) in Japan.