A BIT ABOUT BUNNIES
By Stacy E. Smith

Since Easter falls in April, it seems appropriate to turn our attention to the holiday’s mascot – the bunny rabbit.

Today’s pet rabbits are direct descendants of wild European rabbits which originally inhabited the area around Spain and Portugal. They were first bred in captivity at least 3000 years ago as a source of food and fur. “Fancy” rabbit breeding became fashionable in the 19th century and is responsible for the many shapes and sizes of rabbits we have today. Since rabbits have never really been bred primarily for behavioral characteristics (as dogs are) but rather for size and color, the behaviors we see in today’s domestic rabbit vary little from their wild ancestors.

Rabbits are herbivores and prey animals; meaning they hold a pretty low position on the food chain and must therefore constantly be on the lookout for predators. Even though we don't like to think about it, they provide food for a whole host of other animals. Nature compensates for that by making them prolific in their rate of reproduction. So, just as with other prey animals, rabbits have three main purposes: to stay alive, reproduce and eat enough food to accomplish the first two. They are designed do accomplish exactly those things.

Twitching Nose

A big part of the rabbit's anatomical design is geared towards detecting and escaping predators. Even when rabbits sleep they must constantly monitor their environment for danger – hence the constant nose movement. As they wiggle their nose they simultaneously pull in air and part that split in their upper lip, moisturizing the air and improving their ability to pick up scents.

Large Moveable Ears

Rabbits have a large ear surface area for two reasons. The most important is to allow more sound waves to be collected and therefore detect potential danger nearby. Rabbits will move their ears independently of each other to maximize their hearing ability. The ears are also a rabbit’s natural air conditioner for his body where heat can be released quickly. Only the lop-eared rabbit, which was genetically altered by humans, cannot use its ears in the proper manner.

Large Protruding Eyes

The position and size of a rabbit’s eyes allows excellent vision almost 360 degrees around the head. Rabbits cannot see well directly in front but together along with sniffing and listening they can pinpoint danger very accurately.

Eating

Rabbits evolved to exist on a wide range of plant materials, including plants that would be of low nutrient value to other animals. Therefore they must be grazing a good portion of the day which means they may have to travel a fair distance to obtain food. While eating, it is common to see a rabbit periodically raise its head to scan the area, giving them a “nervous” look. (By the way, rabbits tend to defecate as they are eating. These droppings fertilize the area and keep things growing.)

Digging

The European rabbit lived in interconnected burrows, called “warrens” so the main reason for digging is to create a safe place to hide, sleep and reproduce. Another likely reason is to create a horseshoe-shaped depression called a “scrape” which is probably to provide a place for male rabbits to make small deposits of feces to mark their territory.

Jumping

Although jumping is not a part of normal locomotion for the rabbit it can be essential when there is a need for escape from danger. A rabbit running for its life can leap not only over obstacles, but also straight up into the air and then twist around so it lands going a totally different direction, throwing a predator off.

Vocalization

Since rabbits are prey animals they obviously don’t want to draw attention to themselves with a lot of noise. As a result, most of their vocalizations are quiet. Content rabbit noises might include a low purring sound, soft clicking, or slow, quiet grinding of the teeth. Aggressive noises include grunts, growls and loud teeth grinding. Pain and fear may also be expressed by loud teeth grinding. Rabbits also happen to have a piercing scream that is given out only when the animal is in extreme fear or pain. It is so startling that it may shock the predator into hesitating long enough for the rabbit to get away, or as a warning to other rabbits in the area.

Scent Marking

Rabbits can use their feces to mark their territory and to communicate with other rabbits. In addition, rabbits of both sexes have scent glands under their chin. They will mark important items (including other rabbits) in their territory with the clear secretion from this gland, which is undetectable to humans but very interesting to other rabbits.

Urine

There are two ways rabbits urinate. One is simply to “go” while in a normal position simply to relieve himself and the other is lifting the hindquarters and spraying urine on a vertical surface. Most often spraying is done by intact males to mark another male rabbit or during courtship proceedings with a female rabbit. Animals neutered before or shortly after sexual maturity don’t usually spray urine.

Visual Communication

Visual signals are not a large part of rabbit communication. However some body language is significant. A relaxed rabbit will lie either on his side or belly with his hind legs stretched out or squat down on the ground with the ears folded against the head. A submissive rabbit makes itself look small by crouching as flat as possible and staying very still, but his eyes will still look fairly “relaxed.” A fearful rabbit will look similar to the submissive rabbit but his eyes will look tense (sort of “bugged out”) and his body and ears will be pressed tightly in a downward fashion in order to become invisible to the predator. When a rabbit encounters something distasteful but not necessarily dangerous in his environment he will shake his head. (Of course constant head shaking may be a medical problem and you should consult a veterinarian.) When a rabbit thumps the ground energetically he is warning other rabbits of danger. He will then dash off with the white underside of the tail raised as a warning signal to all of his rabbit buddies within sight.

It is always interesting when people are able to share space with a creature that has changed little from its wild ancestors, but has adapted to life with us in spite of it! Have fun with your bunny (make sure you research and learn how to take very good care of it) and enjoy whichever species you take into your home.