View source for Rabbit

{{#seo:
|description= Rabbits or bunnies are small mammals in the family Leporidae, which is in the order Lagomorpha . They are familiar throughout the world as a small herbivore,
}}
{{Short description|Mammals of the family Leporidae}}
{{Redirect|Bunny|other uses|Bunny (disambiguation)|and|Rabbit (disambiguation)}}
{{pp-semi-indef}}
{{pp-move}}
{{good article}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2015}}
{{Paraphyletic group
| auto = yes
| fossil_range = Late Eocene – Holocene, {{Fossil range|55|0}}
| image = Oryctolagus cuniculus Rcdo.jpg
| image_alt = A small brown rabbit sat on the dirt in a forest. Its ears are small and alert and the tip of its nose, part of its chest and one of its feet are white.
| image_caption = European rabbit (''Oryctolagus cuniculus'')
| parent = Leporidae
| subdivision_ranks = Included genera
| subdivision = {{Columns-list|colwidth=30em|{{plainlist|
* ''Pentalagus''
* ''Bunolagus''
* ''Nesolagus''
* ''Romerolagus''
* ''Brachylagus''
* ''Sylvilagus''
* ''Oryctolagus''
* ''Poelagus''
* ''Caprolagus''
* ''Pronolagus''
}}}}
| excludes = 
* ''Lepus''
}}

'''Rabbits''' or '''bunnies''' are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also includes the hares), which is in the order Lagomorpha (which also includes pikas). They are familiar throughout the world as a small herbivore, a prey animal, a domesticated form of livestock, and a pet, having a widespread effect on ecologies and cultures. The most widespread rabbit genera are ''Oryctolagus'' and ''Sylvilagus''. The former, ''Oryctolagus'', includes the European rabbit, ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'', which is the ancestor of the hundreds of breeds of domestic rabbit and has been introduced on every continent except Antarctica. The latter, ''Sylvilagus'', includes over 13 wild rabbit species, among them the cottontails and tapetis. Wild rabbits not included in ''Oryctolagus'' and ''Sylvilagus'' include several species of limited distribution, including the pygmy rabbit, volcano rabbit, and Sumatran striped rabbit.

Rabbits are a paraphyletic grouping, and do not constitute a clade, as hares (belonging to the genus ''Lepus'') are nested within the Leporidae clade and are not described as rabbits. Although once considered rodents, lagomorphs diverged earlier and have a number of traits rodents lack, including two extra incisors. Similarities between rabbits and rodents were once attributed to convergent evolution, but studies in molecular biology have found a common ancestor between lagomorphs and rodents and place them in the clade Glires.

Rabbit physiology is suited to escaping predators and surviving in various habitats, living either alone or in groups in nests or burrows. As prey animals, rabbits are constantly aware of their surroundings, having a wide field of vision and ears with high surface area to detect potential predators. The ears of a rabbit are essential for thermoregulation and contain a high density of blood vessels. The bone structure of a rabbit's hind legs, which is longer than that of the fore legs, allows for quick hopping, which is beneficial for escaping predators and can provide powerful kicks if captured. Rabbits are typically nocturnal and often sleep with their eyes open. They reproduce quickly, having short pregnancies, large litters of four to twelve kits, and no particular mating season; however, the mortality rate of rabbit embryos is high, and there exist several widespread diseases that affect rabbits, such as rabbit hemorrhagic disease and myxomatosis. In some regions, especially Australia, rabbits have caused ecological problems and are regarded as a pest.

Humans have used rabbits as livestock since at least the first century BC in ancient Rome, raising them for their meat, fur and wool. The various breeds of the European rabbit have been developed to suit each of these products; the practice of raising and breeding rabbits as livestock is known as cuniculture. Rabbits are seen in human culture globally, appearing as a symbol of fertility, cunning, and innocence in major religions, historical and contemporary art.

==Terminology and etymology==
The word rabbit derives from the Middle English {{lang|enm|rabet}} ("young of the coney"), a borrowing from the Walloon {{lang|wa|robète}}, which was a diminutive of the French or Middle Dutch {{lang|dum|robbe}} ("rabbit"), a term of unknown origin.<ref name="EtymRabbit" /> The term ''coney'' is a term for an adult rabbit used until the 18th century; ''rabbit'' once referred only to the young animals.<ref name="Coney etymology">{{OEtymD|coney|accessdate=2024-09-17}}</ref> More recently, the term ''kit'' or ''kitten'' has been used to refer to a young rabbit.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Zapletal|first1=D.|last2=Švancarová|first2=D.|last3=Gálik|first3=B.|year=2021|title=Growth of suckled rabbit kits depending on litter size at birth|journal=Acta Fytotechnica et Zootechnica|volume=24|issue=1|pages=55–59 |doi=10.15414/afz.2021.24.01.55-59|doi-access=free | issn=1335-258X }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Booth |first1=J.L. |last2=Peng |first2=X. |last3=Baccon |first3=J. |last4=Cooper |first4=T.K. |year=2013 |title=Multiple complex congenital malformations in a rabbit kit (Oryctolagus cuniculi) |journal=Comparative Medicine |volume=63 |issue=4 |pages=342–347 |pmc=3750670 |pmid=24209970}}</ref> The endearing word ''bunny'' is attested by the 1680s as a diminutive of ''bun'', a term used in Scotland to refer to rabbits and squirrels.<ref>{{OEtymD|bunny|accessdate=2024-10-21}}</ref>

''Coney'' is derived from ''cuniculus'',<ref name="Coney etymology" /> a Latin term referring to rabbits which has been in use from at least the first century BCE in Hispania. The word ''cuniculus'' may originate from a diminutive form of the word for "dog" in the Celtic languages.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ballester |first1=X. |last2=Quinn |first2=R. |date=2002 |title=''Cuniculus'' 'Rabbit' — A Celtic Etymology |url=http://www.continuitas.org/texts/ballester_cuniculus.pdf |journal=World Rabbit Science |volume=10 |issue=3}}</ref>

A group of rabbits is known as a ''colony,''<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lipton |first=James |title=An Exaltation of Larks: The Ultimate Edition |date=1 November 1993 |publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=0-140-17096-0}}</ref> ''nest'', or ''warren'',<ref name="usgs" /> though the latter term more commonly refers to where the rabbits live.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024 |title=Warren Definition & Meaning |url=https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/warren |access-date=2024-10-07 |website=Britannica Dictionary |language=en-US}}</ref> A group of baby rabbits produced from a single mating is referred to as a ''litter''<ref>{{cite news |last=McClure |first=Diane |date=August 2020 |title=Breeding and Reproduction of Rabbits |url=https://www.merckvetmanual.com/all-other-pets/rabbits/breeding-and-reproduction-of-rabbits |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241002013152/https://www.merckvetmanual.com/all-other-pets/rabbits/breeding-and-reproduction-of-rabbits |archive-date=2 October 2024 |access-date=7 October 2024 |website=Merck Veterinary Manual |df=dmy-all}}</ref> and a group of domestic rabbits living together is sometimes called a ''herd''.<ref name="usgs">{{cite web|url=http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/about/faqs/animals/names.htm|title=Common Questions: What Do You Call a Group of...?|work=archived copy of Animal Congregations, or What Do You Call a Group of.....?|publisher=U.S. Geological Survey Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150320071411/http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/about/faqs/animals/names.htm|archive-date=20 March 2015|url-status=dead|access-date=26 February 2018}}</ref>

A male rabbit is called a ''buck'', as are male goats and deer, derived from the Old English {{Lang|ang|bucca}} or ''{{Lang|ang|bucc}}'', meaning "he-goat" or "male deer", respectively.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023 |title=Buck |url=https://www.dictionary.com/browse/buck |access-date=2024-10-06 |website=Dictionary.com Unabridged |publisher=Random House, Inc. |language=en}}</ref> A female is called a ''doe'', derived from the Old English {{Lang|ang|dā}}, related to {{Lang|ang|dēon}} ("to suck").<ref>{{Cite web |title=Doe |url=https://www.dictionary.com/browse/doe |access-date=2024-10-06 |website=Dictionary.com |language=en}}</ref>

{{Anchor|Classifications|reason="Classifications" is the old section name, which was changed to "Taxonomy" on 24 February 2018}}

==Taxonomy and evolution==
{{see also|List of leporids}}

Rabbits and hares were formerly classified in the order Rodentia (rodents) until 1912, when they were moved into the order Lagomorpha (which also includes pikas). Since 1945, there has been support for the clade Glires that includes both rodents and lagomorphs,<ref>{{Citation |last=Korth |first=William W. |title=Classification of Rodents |date=1994 |work=The Tertiary Record of Rodents in North America |series=Topics in Geobiology |volume=12 |pages=27–34 |editor-last= |editor-first= |url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4899-1444-6_4 |access-date=2024-09-16 |place=Boston, MA |publisher=Springer US |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-1-4899-1444-6_4 |isbn=978-1-4899-1444-6|url-access=subscription }}</ref> though the two groups have always been closely associated in taxonomy; fossil,<ref>{{Cite journal  |vauthors=Asher RJ, Meng J, Wible JR, etal |title=Stem Lagomorpha and the antiquity of Glires |journal=Science |volume=307 |issue=5712 |pages=1091–4 |date=February 2005 |pmid=15718468 |doi=10.1126/science.1107808 |bibcode=2005Sci...307.1091A |s2cid=42090505 }}</ref> DNA,<ref>{{Unbulleted list citebundle|{{Cite journal  |vauthors=Madsen O, Scally M, Douady CJ, etal |title=Parallel adaptive radiations in two major clades of placental mammals |journal=Nature |volume=409 |issue=6820 |pages=610–4 |date=February 2001 |pmid=11214318 |doi=10.1038/35054544|bibcode=2001Natur.409..610M |s2cid=4398233 |ref=none}}|{{Cite journal |vauthors=Murphy WJ, Eizirik E, Johnson WE, Zhang YP, Ryder OA, O'Brien SJ |title=Molecular phylogenetics and the origins of placental mammals |journal=Nature |volume=409 |issue=6820 |pages=614–8 |date=February 2001 |pmid=11214319 |doi=10.1038/35054550|bibcode=2001Natur.409..614M |s2cid=4373847 |ref=none}}}}</ref> and retrotransposon<ref name="Kriegs" /> studies in the 2000s have solidified support for the clade. Studies in paleontology and molecular biology suggest that rodents and lagomorphs diverged at the start of the Tertiary.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Huchon |first1=Dorothée |last2=Madsen |first2=Ole |last3=Sibbald |first3=Mark J. J. B. |last4=Ament |first4=Kai |last5=Stanhope |first5=Michael J. |last6=Catzeflis |first6=François |last7=de Jong |first7=Wilfried W. |last8=Douzery |first8=Emmanuel J. P. |date=2002-07-01 |title=Rodent Phylogeny and a Timescale for the Evolution of Glires: Evidence from an Extensive Taxon Sampling Using Three Nuclear Genes |url=https://academic.oup.com/mbe/article/19/7/1053/1068579 |journal=Molecular Biology and Evolution |volume=19 |issue=7 |pages=1053–1065 |doi=10.1093/oxfordjournals.molbev.a004164 |pmid=12082125 |issn=1537-1719}}</ref>
<!--<gallery class="center" mode="nolines" heights="200" widths="200">
File:BRACHYLAGUS IDAHOENSIS.jpg|alt=A small, round, dust-coloured rabbit with upright, close-set ears sat on the ground amidst dead branches.|''Brachylagus idahoensis''{{pb}}Pygmy rabbit
File:Sumatran Striped Rabbit Recontruction.jpg|alt=A model of a relatively large rabbit, with a slightly longer face and shorter, rounder ears, and fur patterned black and gold.|''Nesolagus netscheri''{{pb}}Sumatran striped rabbit{{pb}}{{small|(Model)}}
File:Oryctolagus cuniculus Tasmania 2.jpg|alt=A small, light-brown rabbit with upright ears sat on some grass.|''Oryctolagus cuniculus''{{pb}}European rabbit{{pb}}{{small|(Feral Tasmanian specimen)}}
File:Amami rabbit Stuffed specimen.jpg|alt=A taxidermy of a large rabbit with dark brown fur, small, thin ears and an elongated, rodent-like face.|''Pentalagus furnessi''{{pb}}Amami rabbit{{pb}}{{small|(Taxidermy specimen)}}
File:Romerolagus diazi - Zoologico de Chapultepec, Ciudad de México - Cropped2x.jpg|alt=A very small brown rabbit among leaf litter under wiry brush. Its features are equally small, appearing similar to a vole.|''Romerolagus diazi''{{pb}}Volcano rabbit
File:Southern swamp rabbit baby.jpg|alt=A juvenile rabbit sat on a white person's hand; its fur is a light brown ticked heavily with dark brown. It is not quite large enough to fill the person's hand completely.|''Sylvilagus aquaticus''{{pb}}Swamp rabbit{{pb}}{{small|(Juvenile)}}
File:What's Up Doc.jpg|alt=A medium-sized rabbit with light brown fur ticked with grey, its ears large and upright. It stands on all fours on some sandy ground.|''Sylvilagus audubonii''{{pb}}Desert cottontail
File:Sylvilagus bachmani 01035t.JPG|alt=A light-brown rabbit sitting in a field, its body unusually large and squat, its limbs and head small, and its ears especially small|''Sylvilagus bachmani''{{pb}}Brush rabbit
File:Sylvilagus brasiliensis 188938971.jpg|alt=A small rabbit coming out of foliage, its fur a warm brown ticked with a dark brown, its ears small and set back, its face closer to a vole's than a rabbit's|''Sylvilagus brasiliensis''{{pb}}Tapeti
File:Eastern Cottontail.JPG|alt=A rabbit sitting upright in a field, turning to face the camera, its fur a light brown ticked with grey and dark brown, its ears upright|''Sylvilagus floridanus''{{pb}}Eastern cottontail
</gallery>-->{{cladogram|clades={{clade
|1={{clade
   |1=''Nesolagus'' (striped rabbits)
   |2={{clade
      |1=''Poelagus'' (Bunyoro rabbit)
      |2=''Pronolagus''&nbsp;(red&nbsp;rock&nbsp;hares)
      }}
   }}
|2={{clade
   |1=''Romerolagus'' (volcano rabbit)
   |2={{clade
      |1={{clade
         |1={{clade
            |1={{clade
               |1=''Sylvilagus'' (cottontails) [[File:Wild animals of North America, intimate studies of big and little creatures of the mammal kingdom (Page 511) (Sylvilagus palustris).jpg|50 px]]
               |2=''Brachylagus''&nbsp;(pygmy&nbsp;rabbit)
               }}
            |2={{clade
               |1={{clade
                  |1=''Caprolagus'' (hispid hare)
                  |2=''Oryctolagus''&nbsp;(European&nbsp;rabbit) [[File:Lepus cuniculus - 1700-1880 - Print - Iconographia Zoologica -(white background).jpg|60 px]]
                  }}
               |2={{clade
                  |1=''Bunolagus'' (riverine rabbit)
                  |2=''Pentalagus''&nbsp;(Amami&nbsp;rabbit)
                  }}
               }}
            }}
         }}
      |2=''Lepus'' (hares) [[File:Lepus timidus - 1700-1880 - Print - Iconographia Zoologica -(white background).jpg|60 px]]
      }}
  }}
}}}}
The extant species of family Leporidae, of which there are more than 70, are contained within 11 genera, one of which is ''Lepus'', the hares. There are 32 extant species within ''Lepus''. The cladogram is from Matthee et al., 2004, based on nuclear and mitochondrial gene analysis.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Matthee |first1=Conrad A. |display-authors=etal |date=2004 |title=A Molecular Supermatrix of the Rabbits and Hares (Leporidae) Allows for the Identification of Five Intercontinental Exchanges During the Miocene |journal=Systematic Biology |volume=53 |issue=3 |pages=433–477 |doi=10.1080/10635150490445715 |pmid=15503672 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

===Classification===
{{div col|colwidth=35em}}
* Order '''Lagomorpha'''
** Family '''Leporidae''' (in part):<ref name=MSW>{{MSW3 Hoffmann|pages=194–211}}</ref>
* Genus ''Brachylagus''
** Pygmy rabbit, ''Brachylagus idahoensis''
* Genus ''Bunolagus''
** Riverine rabbit, ''Bunolagus monticularis''
* Genus ''Caprolagus''
** Hispid hare, ''Caprolagus hispidus''
* Genus ''Lepus''{{efn|This genus is a hare, not a rabbit.}}
* Genus ''Nesolagus''
** Sumatran striped rabbit, ''Nesolagus netscheri''
** Annamite striped rabbit, ''Nesolagus timminsi''
* Genus ''Oryctolagus''
** European rabbit, ''Oryctolagus cuniculus''
* Genus ''Pentalagus''
** Amami rabbit/Ryūkyū rabbit, ''Pentalagus furnessi''
* Genus ''Poelagus''
** Bunyoro rabbit, ''Poelagus marjorita''
* Genus ''Pronolagus''
** Natal red rock hare, ''Pronolagus crassicaudatus''
** Jameson's red rock hare, ''Pronolagus randensis''
** Smith's red rock hare, ''Pronolagus rupestris''
** Hewitt's red rock hare, ''Pronolagus saundersiae''
* Genus ''Romerolagus''
** Volcano rabbit, ''Romerolagus diazi''
* Genus ''Sylvilagus''
** Andean tapeti, ''Sylvilagus andinus''
** Swamp rabbit, ''Sylvilagus aquaticus''
** Desert cottontail, ''Sylvilagus audubonii''
** Brush rabbit, ''Sylvilagus bachmani''
** Common tapeti, ''Sylvilagus brasiliensis''
** Mexican cottontail, ''Sylvilagus cunicularis''
** Dice's cottontail, ''Sylvilagus dicei''
** Eastern cottontail, ''Sylvilagus floridanus''
** Central American tapeti, ''Sylvilagus gabbi''
** Tres Marias cottontail, ''Sylvilagus graysoni''
** Robust cottontail, ''Sylvilagus holzneri''
** Omilteme cottontail, ''Sylvilagus insonus''
** Mountain cottontail, ''Sylvilagus nuttallii''
** Appalachian cottontail, ''Sylvilagus obscurus''
** Marsh rabbit, ''Sylvilagus palustris''
** Santa Marta tapeti, ''Sylvilagus sanctaemartae''
** Coastal tapeti, ''Sylvilagus tapetillus''
** New England cottontail, ''Sylvilagus transitionalis''
** Venezuelan lowland rabbit, ''Sylvilagus varynaensis''

{{div col end}}

===Differences from hares===
{{Main|Hare}}
{{Multiple image
| align     = right
| direction = horizontal
| image1    = Meyer Zeit-Vertreib 2 Tafel 032.jpg
| width1    = 199
| caption1  = Hare{{pb}}{{small|Johann Daniel Meyer (1748)}}
| image2    = Meyer Zeit-Vertreib 1 Tafel 083.jpg
| width2    = 205
| caption2  = Rabbit{{pb}}{{small|Johann Daniel Meyer (1748)}}
}}

The term ''rabbit'' is typically used for all Leporidae species, excluding the genus ''Lepus''. Members of that genus are known as ''hares''{{sfn|Alves|Ferrand|Hackländer|2008|pages=1-9}} or ''jackrabbits''.{{sfn|Varga|2013|page=3}}

''Lepus'' species are precocial, born relatively mature and mobile with hair and good vision out in the open air, while rabbit species are altricial, born hairless and blind in burrows and buried nests.{{sfn|Nowak|1999|page=1720}} Hares are also generally larger than rabbits, and have longer pregnancies.{{sfn|Alves|Ferrand|Hackländer|2008|pages=1-9}} Hares and some rabbits live relatively solitary lives above the ground in open grassy areas,{{sfn|Nowak|1999|pages=1733-1738}} interacting mainly during breeding season.{{Sfn|Angerbjörn|Schai-Braun|2023|pp=205-206}}<ref name="CapeHare">{{Citation |last1=Scandura |first1=Massimo |title=Cape Hare Lepus capensis Linnaeus, 1758 |date=2023 |work=Primates and Lagomorpha |pages=79–98 |editor-last=Hackländer |editor-first=Klaus |url=https://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-030-34043-8_10 |access-date=2024-09-16 |place=Cham |publisher=Springer International Publishing |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-34043-8_10 |isbn=978-3-030-34042-1 |last2=De Marinis |first2=Anna Maria |last3=Canu |first3=Antonio |editor2-last=Alves |editor2-first=Paulo C.|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Some rabbit species group together to reduce their chance of being preyed upon,<ref name=":9">{{Citation |last1=Bell |first1=Diana |title=Rabbits and Hares |date=2006 |encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia of Mammals |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780199206087.001.0001/acref-9780199206087-e-118 |access-date=2024-10-09 |publisher=Oxford University Press |language=en |doi=10.1093/acref/9780199206087.001.0001 |isbn=978-0-19-920608-7 |last2=Smith |first2=Andrew T.|url-access=subscription }}</ref> and the European rabbit will form large social groups in burrows,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Rodríguez-Martínez |first1=Luisa |last2=Hudson |first2=Robyn |last3=Martínez-Gómez |first3=Margarita |last4=Bautista |first4=Amando |date=January 2014 |title=Description of the nursery burrow of the Mexican cottontail rabbit Sylvilagus cunicularius under seminatural conditions |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s13364-012-0125-6 |journal=Acta Theriologica |language=en |volume=59 |issue=1 |pages=193–201 |doi=10.1007/s13364-012-0125-6 |issn=0001-7051|url-access=subscription }}</ref> which are grouped together to form warrens.{{Sfn|Delibes-Mateos|Rödel|Rouco|Alves|2023|pp=44-45}}{{sfn|Varga|2013|pages=3-4}} Burrowing by hares varies by location, and is more prominent in younger members of the genus;{{Sfn|Angerbjörn|Schai-Braun|2023|p=|pp=205-206}} many rabbit species that do not dig their own burrows will use the burrows of other animals.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Desert Cottontail (''Sylvilagus audubonii'') |url=http://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/species/cotton/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170611100626/http://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/species/cotton/ |archive-date=2017-06-11 |website=Texas Parks & Wildlife}}</ref><ref name="Chapman1990">{{cite book |last1=Chapman |first1=Joseph |title=Rabbits, hares, and pikas : status survey and conservation action plan |date=1990 |publisher=International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources |isbn=2-8317-0019-1 |page=99}}</ref>

Rabbits and hares have historically not occupied the same locations, and only became sympatric relatively recently; historic accounts describe antagonistic relationships between rabbits and hares, specifically between the European hare and European or cottontail rabbits, but scientific literature since 1956 has found no evidence of aggression or undue competition between rabbits and hares. When they appear in the same habitat, rabbits and hares can co-exist on similar diets.{{sfn|Alves|Ferrand|Hackländer|2008|pages=241-249}} Hares will notably force other hare species out of an area to control resources, but are not territorial.{{Sfn|Angerbjörn|Schai-Braun|2023|pp=119–219}} When faced with predators, hares will escape by outrunning them, whereas rabbits, being smaller and less able to reach the high speeds of longer-legged hares, will try to seek cover.<ref name=":9" />

Descendants of the European rabbit are commonly bred as livestock and kept as pets, whereas no hares have been domesticated, though populations have been introduced to non-native habitats for use as a food source.{{sfn|Nowak|1999|pages=1733-1738}} The breed known as the Belgian hare is actually a domestic rabbit which has been selectively bred to resemble a hare,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lyon |first=M. W. |date=1916 |title=Belgian Hare, A Misleading Misnomer |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1639908 |journal=Science |volume=43 |issue=1115 |pages=686–687 |doi=10.1126/science.43.1115.686.b |jstor=1639908 |pmid=17831801 |issn=0036-8075|url-access=subscription }}</ref> most likely from Flemish Giant stock originally.<ref>{{DomesticRabbitsWhitman|pages=74-95}}</ref> Common names of hare and rabbit species may also be confused; "jackrabbits" refer to hares, and the hispid hare is a rabbit.<ref name=":10">{{Citation |last=Toddes |first=Barbara |title=Lagomorpha Diet |date=2022 |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior |pages=3823–3826 |editor-last=Vonk |editor-first=Jennifer |url=https://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-319-55065-7_1209 |access-date=2024-11-13 |place=Cham |publisher=Springer International Publishing |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-55065-7_1209 |isbn=978-3-319-55064-0 |editor2-last=Shackelford |editor2-first=Todd K.|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

===Domestication===
{{Main|Domestic rabbit}}

Rabbits, specifically the European rabbit (''Oryctolagus cuniculus'') species, have long been domesticated. The European rabbit has been widely kept as livestock, starting in ancient Rome from at least the first century BC. Selective breeding, which began in the Middle Ages, has generated a wide variety of rabbit breeds, of which many (since the early 19th century) are also kept as pets.<ref name="Irving-PeaseFrantz2018">{{cite journal|last1=Irving-Pease|first1=Evan K.|last2=Frantz|first2=Laurent A.F.|last3=Sykes|first3=Naomi|last4=Callou|first4=Cécile|last5=Larson|first5=Greger|title=Rabbits and the Specious Origins of Domestication|journal=Trends in Ecology & Evolution|volume=33|issue=3|pages=149–152|year=2018|issn=0169-5347|doi=10.1016/j.tree.2017.12.009|pmid=29454669|bibcode=2018TEcoE..33..149I |s2cid=3380288 |url=http://qmro.qmul.ac.uk/xmlui/handle/123456789/34474}}</ref> Some strains of European rabbit have been bred specifically as research subjects, such as the New Zealand white.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mapara |first1=M. |last2=Thomas |first2=B. |last3=Bhat |first3=K. |date=2012 |title=Rabbit as an animal model for experimental research |journal=Dental Research Journal |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=111–8 |doi=10.4103/1735-3327.92960 |doi-broken-date=1 November 2024 |pmc=3283968 |pmid=22363373 |quote=Amongst various strains, New Zealand white strains of rabbits are commonly being used for research activities. These strains are less aggressive in nature and have less health problems as compared with other breeds. |doi-access=free}}</ref>

As livestock, European rabbits are bred for their meat and fur. The earliest breeds were important sources of meat,<ref>{{Cite book |author=Julie Kimber |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JWpODwAAQBAJ&pg=PA10 |title=Issues on War and Peace |author2=Phillip Deery |author3=Warwick Eather |author4=Drew Cottle |author5=Michael Hamel-Green |author6=Nic Maclelland |author7=Doris LeRoy |author8=Jeanette Debney-Joyce |author9=Jonathan Strauss |date=2014 |publisher=Australian Society for the Study of Labour History/Leftbank Press |isbn=978-0-9803883-3-6 |page=10 |author10=David Faber}}</ref><ref name="meatsci">{{Cite journal |author1=Marco Cullere |author2=Antonella Dalle Zotte |date=2018 |title=Rabbit meat production and consumption: State of knowledge and future perspectives |journal=Meat Science |volume=143 |pages=137–146 |doi=10.1016/j.meatsci.2018.04.029 |pmid=29751220}}</ref> and so were bred to be larger than wild rabbits at younger ages,<ref name="meatproduction">{{Citation |title=Meat Production |date=2022-05-11 |work=Rabbit Production |pages=274–277 |url=http://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/10.1079/9781789249811.0023 |access-date=2024-05-23 |edition=10 |place=GB |publisher=CABI |language=en |doi=10.1079/9781789249811.0023 |isbn=978-1-78924-978-1|url-access=subscription }}</ref> but domestic rabbits in modern times range in size from dwarf to giant.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tislerics |first=Ati |title=''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' |url=https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Oryctolagus_cuniculus/#3a0538fe6c2441bc4dad900e89213ec7 |access-date=May 21, 2024 |website=Animal Diversity Web}}</ref><ref name="Fiorello">{{cite journal |last1=Fiorello |first1=Christine V. |last2=German |first2=R.Z. |date=February 1997 |title=Heterochrony within species: craniofacial growth in giant, standard, and dwarf rabbits |journal=Evolution |volume=51 |issue=1 |pages=250–261 |doi=10.1111/j.1558-5646.1997.tb02406.x |pmid=28568789 |s2cid=205780205 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Rabbit fur, produced as a byproduct of meat production but occasionally selected for as in the case of the Rex rabbit,<ref name="rabprobreeds2">{{Citation |title=Rabbit Breeds |date=2022-05-11 |work=Rabbit Production |pages=23–28 |url=http://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/10.1079/9781789249811.0003 |access-date=2024-05-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240514151434/https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/10.1079/9781789249811.0003 |archive-date=2024-05-14 |url-status=live |edition=10 |place=GB |publisher=CABI |language=en |doi=10.1079/9781789249811.0003 |isbn=978-1-78924-978-1|url-access=subscription }}</ref> can be found in a broad range of coat colors and patterns, some of which are produced via dyeing.<ref name="pg268">{{cite book |last=Davis |first=Susan |url=https://archive.org/details/storiesrabbitste0000davi/page/268/mode/2up |title=Stories Rabbits Tell |date=2003 |publisher=Lantern Books |isbn=978-1-59056-044-0 |page=268}}</ref> Some breeds are raised for their wool, such as the Angora rabbit breeds;<ref>{{Cite book |last=Campbell |first=Darlene |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y6njl3w0qEQC |title=Proper Care of Rabbits |date=1995 |publisher=TFH Publications, Incorporated |isbn=978-0-86622-196-2 |page=206}}</ref> their fur is sheared, combed or plucked, and the fibers are spun into yarn.<ref name="Angora Wool Production">{{Citation |last1=Samson |first1=Leslie |title=Angora Wool Production |date=2022-05-11 |work=Rabbit Production |pages=292–302 |url=http://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/10.1079/9781789249811.0022 |access-date=2024-05-26 |edition=10 |place=GB |publisher=CABI |language=en |doi=10.1079/9781789249811.0022 |isbn=978-1-78924-978-1|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==Biology==
[[File:Set of wax models showing development of the rabbit heart, twentieth century (24226156252).jpg|thumb|left|Wax models showing the development of the rabbit heart]]

===Evolution===
The earliest ancestor of rabbits and hares lived 55 million years ago in what is now Mongolia.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Asher |first1=RJ |last2=Meng |first2=J |last3=Wible |first3=JR |last4=McKenna |first4=MC |last5=Rougier |first5=GW |last6=Dashzeveg |first6=D |last7=Novacek |first7=MJ |title=Stem Lagomorpha and the antiquity of Glires |journal=Science |date=February 18, 2005 |volume=307 |issue=5712 |pages=1091–4 |doi= 10.1126/science.1107808 |pmid= 15718468|bibcode=2005Sci...307.1091A }}</ref> Because the rabbit's epiglottis is engaged over the soft palate except when swallowing, the rabbit is an obligate nasal breather.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Johnson-Delaney|first1= CA |last2=Orosz |first2=SE |title=Rabbit respiratory system: clinical anatomy, physiology and disease |journal=Vet Clin North Am Exot Anim Pract |date=May 2011 |volume=14 |issue=2 |pages=257–66 |doi= 10.1016/j.cvex.2011.03.002 |pmid= 21601814}}</ref> As lagomorphs, rabbits have two sets of incisor teeth, one behind the other, a manner in which they differ from rodents, which only have one set of incisors.{{sfn|Alves|Ferrand|Hackländer|2008|pages=1-9}} Another difference is that for rabbits, all of their teeth continue to grow, whereas for most rodents, only their incisors continue to grow.  Carl Linnaeus originally grouped rabbits and rodents under the class Glires; later, they were separated as the scientific consensus is that many of their similarities were a result of convergent evolution. DNA analysis and the discovery of a common ancestor have supported the view that they share a common lineage, so rabbits and rodents are now often grouped together in the clade or superorder Glires.<ref name="VellaDonnelly">{{Cite book|editor-first1=Katherine |editor-last1=Quesenberry |editor-first2=Connie J. |editor-last2=Orcutt |editor-first3=Christoph |editor-last3=Mans |editor-first4=James W. |editor-last4=Carpenter |title=Ferrets, Rabbits, and Rodents: Clinical Medicine and Surgery |edition=4th |date=2020 |chapter=Basic Anatomy, Physiology, and Husbandry of Rabbits |pages=131–149 |first1=Thomas M. |last1=Donnelly|first2= David |last2=Vella |doi=10.1016/B978-0-323-48435-0.00011-3 |isbn=978-0-323-48435-0 }}</ref><ref name="Kriegs">{{Cite journal |last1=Kriegs |first1=JO |last2=Churakov |first2=G|last3=Jurka |first3=J |last4=Brosius |first4=J |last5=Schmitz |first5=J |title=Evolutionary history of 7SL RNA-derived SINEs in Supraprimates |journal=Trends in Genetics |volume=23 |issue=4 |pages=158–61 |date=April 2007 |pmid=17307271 |doi=10.1016/j.tig.2007.02.002 }}</ref>

===Morphology===
[[File:Cmglee Horniman rabbit skin skeleton.jpg|thumb|left|Skeleton of the rabbit]]
Since speed and agility are a rabbit's main defenses against predators, rabbits have large hind leg bones and well-developed musculature. Though plantigrade at rest, rabbits are on their toes while running, assuming a more digitigrade posture.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hall |first1=Patrick |last2=Stubbs |first2=Caleb |last3=Anderson |first3=David E. |last4=Greenacre |first4=Cheryl |last5=Crouch |first5=Dustin L. |date=2022-06-17 |title=Rabbit hindlimb kinematics and ground contact kinetics during the stance phase of gait |journal=PeerJ |language=en |volume=10 |pages=e13611 |doi=10.7717/peerj.13611 |doi-access=free |issn=2167-8359 |pmc=9208372 |pmid=35734635}}</ref> Rabbits use their strong claws for digging and (along with their teeth) for defense.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=d'Ovidio |first1=Dario |last2=Pierantoni |first2=Ludovica |last3=Noviello |first3=Emilio |last4=Pirrone |first4=Federica |title=Sex differences in human-directed social behavior in pet rabbits |journal=Journal of Veterinary Behavior |date=September 2016 |volume=15 |pages=37–42 |doi=10.1016/j.jveb.2016.08.072 }}</ref> Each front foot has four toes plus a dewclaw. Each hind foot has four toes (but no dewclaw).<ref name="van Praag">{{cite web |last1=van Praag |first1=Esther |year=2005 |title=Deformed claws in a rabbit, after traumatic fractures |url=http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Bone_diseases/Anomalies/Nail_kas_en.pdf |publisher=MediRabbit }}</ref>

[[File:Wild black Oryctologus cuniculus.jpg|thumb|upright|Melanistic coloring{{pb}}<small>''Oryctologus cuniculus''{{pb}}European rabbit (wild)</small>]]
Most wild rabbits (especially [[#Differences from hares|compared to hares]]) have relatively full, egg-shaped bodies. The soft coat of the wild rabbit is agouti in coloration (or, rarely, melanistic), which aids in camouflage. The tail of the rabbit (with the exception of the cottontail species) is dark on top and white below. Cottontails have white on the top of their tails.<ref name="Encyclopædia Britannica">{{cite encyclopedia |title=rabbit |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. |location=Chicago |edition=Standard |year=2007 }}</ref>

As a result of the position of the eyes in its skull and the size of the cornea, the rabbit has a panoramic field of vision that encompasses nearly 360 degrees.<ref>{{Citation |last1=Peiffer |first1=Robert L. |title=Models in Ophthalmology and Vision Research |date=1994 |journal=The Biology of the Laboratory Rabbit |pages=409–433 |publisher=Elsevier |language=en |doi=10.1016/b978-0-12-469235-0.50025-7 |isbn=978-0-12-469235-0 |pmc=7149682 |last2=Pohm-Thorsen |first2=Laurie |last3=Corcoran |first3=Kelly}}</ref> However, there is a blind spot at the bridge of the nose, and because of this, rabbits cannot see what is below their mouth and rely on their lips and whiskers to determine what they are eating. Blinking occurs 2 to 4 times an hour.<ref name="VellaDonnelly" />

===Hind limb elements===
[[File:Rabbit hind limb skeleton.jpg|thumb|left|A specimen of the skeletal articulations of rabbit's hind limbs in the Pacific Lutheran University natural history collection]]
The anatomy of rabbits' hind limbs is structurally similar to that of other land mammals and contributes to their specialized form of locomotion. The bones of the hind limbs consist of long bones (the femur, tibia, fibula, and phalanges) as well as short bones (the tarsals). These bones are created through endochondral ossification during fetal development. Like most land mammals, the round head of the femur articulates with the acetabulum of the os coxae, the hip bone. The femur articulates with the tibia, but not the fibula, which is fused to the tibia. The tibia and fibula articulate with the tarsals of the pes, commonly called the foot. The hind limbs of the rabbit are longer than the front limbs. This allows them to produce their hopping form of locomotion. Longer hind limbs are more capable of producing faster speeds. Hares, which have longer legs than cottontail rabbits, are able to move considerably faster.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/practicalanatom00bensgoog|page=[https://archive.org/details/practicalanatom00bensgoog/page/n5 1]|quote=rabbit skeletal anatomy.|title=Practical anatomy of the rabbit|last=Bensley|first=Benjamin Arthur|date=1910|publisher=The University Press}}</ref> The hind feet have four long toes that allow for digitigrade movement, which are webbed to prevent them from spreading when hopping.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.merckvetmanual.com/all-other-pets/rabbits/description-and-physical-characteristics-of-rabbits#v34404688|title=Description and Physical Characteristics of Rabbits – All Other Pets – Merck Veterinary Manual|work=Merck Veterinary Manual|access-date=2018-05-11}}</ref> Rabbits do not have paw pads on their feet like most other animals that use digitigrade locomotion. Instead, they have coarse compressed hair that offers protection.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.exoticpetvet.net/smanimal/rabanatomy.html|title=Rabbit Anatomy|last=D.A.B.V.P.|first=Margaret A. Wissman, D.V.M.|website=exoticpetvet.net|access-date=2018-05-11}}</ref>

====Musculature====
[[File:Lateral view of rabbit hind limb.jpg|thumb|The rabbit's hind limb (lateral view) includes muscles involved in the quadriceps and hamstrings.]]

Rabbits have muscled hind legs that allow for maximum force, maneuverability, and acceleration that is divided into three main parts: foot, thigh, and leg. The hind limbs of a rabbit are an exaggerated feature. They are much longer and can provide more force than the forelimbs,<ref name=":6" /> which are structured like brakes to take the brunt of the landing after a leap.<ref name=":7">{{Citation |last1=Khan |first1=Madiha |title=Lagomorpha Locomotion |date=2021 |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior |pages=1–6 |editor-last=Vonk |editor-first=Jennifer |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_1199-1 |access-date=2024-10-08 |place=Cham |publisher=Springer International Publishing |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_1199-1 |isbn=978-3-319-47829-6 |last2=Suh |first2=Angela |last3=Lee |first3=Jenny |last4=Granatosky |first4=Michael C. |editor2-last=Shackelford |editor2-first=Todd|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The force put out by the hind limbs is contributed by both the structural anatomy of the fusion of the tibia and fibula, and by the muscular features.<ref name=":6">{{Cite book |last1=Lumpkin |first1=Susan |last2=Seidensticker |first2=John |date=2011 |title=Rabbits: the animal answer guide |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |isbn=978-1-4214-0126-3|location=Baltimore|oclc=794700391}}</ref>

Bone formation and removal, from a cellular standpoint, is directly correlated to hind limb muscles. Action pressure from muscles creates force that is then distributed through the skeletal structures. Rabbits that generate less force, putting less stress on bones are more prone to osteoporosis due to bone rarefaction.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Geiser |first1=Max |last2=Trueta |first2=Joseph |title=Muscle action, bone rarefaction and bone formation |journal=The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery. British Volume |date=May 1958 |volume=40-B |issue=2 |pages=282–311 |doi=10.1302/0301-620X.40B2.282 |pmid=13539115 |doi-access=free }}</ref> In rabbits, the more fibers in a muscle, the more resistant to fatigue. For example, hares have a greater resistance to fatigue than cottontails. 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. Complementing these muscles are the hamstrings, which aid in short bursts of action. These muscles play off of one another in the same way as the plantar flexors and dorsiflexors, contributing to the generation and actions associated with force.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lieber |first1=Richard L. |last2=Blevins |first2=Field T. |title=Skeletal muscle architecture of the rabbit hindlimb: Functional implications of muscle design |journal=Journal of Morphology |date=January 1989 |volume=199 |issue=1 |pages=93–101 |doi=10.1002/jmor.1051990108 |pmid=2921772 |s2cid=25344889 }}</ref>

===Ears===
[[File:Anatomy and physiology of animals The ear.jpg|thumb|Anatomy of mammalian ear]]
Within the order of lagomorphs, the ears are used to detect and avoid predators.{{sfn|Varga|2013|page=62}} In the family Leporidae, the ears are typically longer than they are wide, and are in general relatively long compared to other mammals.<ref name="CapeHare" /><ref>{{Citation |last1=Bertolino |first1=Sandro |title=Eastern Cottontail Sylvilagus floridanus (J. A. Allen, 1890) |date=2023 |work=Primates and Lagomorpha |pages=67–78 |editor-last=Hackländer |editor-first=Klaus |url=https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-3-030-34043-8_14 |access-date=2024-09-16 |place=Cham |publisher=Springer International Publishing |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-34043-8_14 |isbn=978-3-030-34042-1 |last2=Brown |first2=David E. |last3=Cerri |first3=Jacopo |last4=Koprowski |first4=John L. |editor2-last=Alves |editor2-first=Paulo C.|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

According to Allen's rule, endothermic animals adapted to colder climates have shorter, thicker limbs and appendages than those of similar animals adapted to warm climates. The rule was originally derived by comparing the ear lengths of ''Lepus'' species across the various climates of North America.<ref>{{cite journal |first=Joel Asaph |last=Allen |authorlink=Joel Asaph Allen |title=The influence of Physical conditions in the genesis of species |journal=Radical Review |year=1877 |volume=1 |pages=108–140 |url=http://people.wku.edu/charles.smith/biogeog/ALLE1877.htm}}</ref> Subsequent studies show that this rule remains true in the Leporidae for the ears specifically,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Stevenson |first=Robert D. |date=1986 |title=Allen's Rule in North American Rabbits (Sylvilagus) and Hares (Lepus) Is an Exception, Not a Rule |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1380884 |journal=Journal of Mammalogy |volume=67 |issue=2 |pages=312–316 |doi=10.2307/1380884 |jstor=1380884 |issn=0022-2372|url-access=subscription }}</ref> in that the surface area of rabbits' and hares' ears are enlarged in warm climates;<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://fieldguide.mt.gov/speciesDetail.aspx?elcode=AMAEB03050 |work=Montana Field Guide |publisher=Montana Natural Heritage Program and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks |title=Black-tailed Jackrabbit - Lepus californicus |access-date=24 September 2024}}</ref> the ears are an important structure to aid thermoregulation<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|doi=10.1016/0024-3205(71)90161-5 |title=The rabbit ear as a temperature sensor |first1=Matthew J. |last1=Kluger |first2=Richard R. |last2=Gonzalez |first3=John W. |last3=Mitchell |first4=James D. |last4=Hardy |journal=Life Sciences |volume=10 |issue= 15 |date=1 August 1971 |pages= 895–899|pmid=5566134 }}</ref> as well as in detecting predators due to the way the outer, middle, and inner ear muscles coordinate with one another. The ear muscles also aid in maintaining balance and movement when fleeing predators.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Meyer|first=D. L.|date=1971|title=Single Unit Responses of Rabbit Ear-Muscles to Postural and Accelerative Stimulation|journal=Experimental Brain Research|volume=14|issue=2|pages=118–26|doi=10.1007/BF00234795|pmid=5016586|s2cid=6466476}}</ref>

The auricle, also known as the pinna, is a rabbit's outer ear.<ref name="Capello 2006">{{Cite journal|last=Capello|first=Vittorio|date=2006|title=Lateral Ear Canal Resection and Ablation in Pet Rabbits|url=http://www.ivis.org/proceedings/navc/2006/SAE/617.pdf?LA=1|journal=The North American Veterinary Conference|volume=20|pages=1711–1713}}</ref> The rabbit's pinnae represent a fair part of the body surface area. It is theorized that the ears aid in dispersion of heat at temperatures above {{convert|30|C|F|abbr=on }}, with rabbits in warmer climates having longer pinnae due to this. Another theory is that the ears function as shock absorbers that could aid and stabilize rabbits' vision when fleeing predators, but this has typically only been seen in hares.<ref name="VellaDonnelly" /> The rest of the outer ear has bent canals that lead to the eardrum or tympanic membrane.<ref name="Parsons 2018">{{Cite journal|last=Parsons|first=Paige K.|date=2018|title=Rabbit Ears: A Structural Look: ...injury or disease, can send your rabbit into a spin|url=https://rabbit.org/journal/4-11/ear.html|journal=House Rabbit Society}}</ref>

The middle ear, separated by the outer eardrum in the back of the rabbit's skull, contains three bones: the hammer, anvil, and stirrup, collectively called ossicles, which act to decrease sound before it hits the inner ear; in general, the ossicles act as a barrier to the inner ear for sound energy.<ref name="Parsons 2018" />

Inner ear fluid, called endolymph, receives the sound energy. After receiving the energy. The inner ear comprises two parts: the cochlea that uses sound waves from the ossicles, and the vestibular apparatus that manages the rabbit's position in regard to movement. Within the cochlea a basilar membrane contains sensory hair structures that send nerve signals to the brain, allowing it to recognize different sound frequencies. Within the vestibular apparatus three semicircular canals help detect angular motion.<ref name="Parsons 2018" />

==== Thermoregulation ====
[[File:California High Desert Cottontail Resting (cropped).jpg|thumb|The blood flow through the rabbit's ears help with thermoregulation, as seen in this desert cottontail.<ref>{{Cite journal|doi=10.2307/1378969 |journal=Journal of Mammalogy |date=31 August 1973 |volume=54 |issue=3 |title=Acclimatization of Thermoregulation in the Desert Cottontail, Sylvilagus audubonii |last=Hinds |first=David S. |pages=708–728|jstor=1378969 |pmid=4744934 }}</ref>]]
The pinnae, which contain a vascular network and arteriovenous shunts, aid in thermoregulation.<ref name="VellaDonnelly" /> In a rabbit, the optimal body temperature is around {{convert|38.5|-|40.0|C|F|abbr=on }}.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fayez |first1=I |title=Rabbit production in hot climates |last2=Marai |first2=M |last3=Alnaimy |first3=A |last4=Habeeb |first4=M |publisher=CIHEAM |year=1994 |editor1-last=Baselga |editor1-first=M |location=Zaragoza |pages=33–41 |chapter=Thermoregulation in rabbits |editor2-last=Marai |editor2-first=I.F.M. |chapter-url=http://om.ciheam.org/article.php?IDPDF=95605277}}</ref> If their body temperature exceeds or does not meet this optimal temperature, the rabbit must make efforts to return to homeostasis. Homeostasis of body temperature is maintained by changing the amount of blood flow that passes through the highly vascularized ears,<ref name=":1" />{{Sfn|Varga|2013|p=12}} as rabbits have few to no sweat glands.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Oladimeji |first1=Abioja Monsuru |last2=Johnson |first2=Temitope Gloria |last3=Metwally |first3=Khaled |last4=Farghly |first4=Mohamed |last5=Mahrose |first5=Khalid Mohamed |date=January 2022 |title=Environmental heat stress in rabbits: implications and ameliorations |url=https://link.springer.com/10.1007/s00484-021-02191-0 |journal=International Journal of Biometeorology |language=en |volume=66 |issue=1 |pages=1–11 |doi=10.1007/s00484-021-02191-0 |pmid=34518931 |issn=0020-7128|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Rabbits may also regulate their temperature by resting in depressions in the ground, known as forms.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Milling |first1=Charlotte R |last2=Rachlow |first2=Janet L |last3=Johnson |first3=Timothy R |last4=Forbey |first4=Jennifer S |last5=Shipley |first5=Lisa A |date=2017-09-01 |title=Seasonal variation in behavioral thermoregulation and predator avoidance in a small mammal |url=http://academic.oup.com/beheco/article/28/5/1236/3861738/Seasonal-variation-in-behavioral-thermoregulation |journal=Behavioral Ecology |language=en |volume=28 |issue=5 |pages=1236–1247 |doi=10.1093/beheco/arx084 |issn=1045-2249}}</ref>

===Respiratory system===
[[File:Dissected Rabbit Lungs.jpg|thumb|upright|Ventral view of dissected rabbit lungs with key structures labeled]]

The rabbit's nasal cavity lies dorsal to the oral cavity, and the two compartments are separated by the hard and soft palate.<ref name="Johnson-Delaney 2011" /> 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.<ref name="Johnson-Delaney 2011" />{{sfn|Smith|Schenk|2019|page=73}} As the rabbit breathes, air flows in through the nostrils along the alar folds. From there, the air moves into the nasal cavity, also known as the nasopharynx, down through the trachea, through the larynx, and into the lungs.{{sfn|Smith|Schenk|2019|page=76}}<ref name="Jekl 2012">{{Cite journal|last=Jekl|first=Vladimi|date=2012|title=Approach to Rabbit Respiratory Disease|url=https://www.vin.com/apputil/content/defaultadv1.aspx?id=5328323&pid=11349&print=1|journal=WSAVA/FECAVA/BSAVA World Congress|quote=As obligate nasal breathers, rabbits with upper airway disease will attempt to breathe through their mouths, which prevents feeding and drinking and could be quickly fatal.}}</ref> The larynx functions as the rabbit's voice box, which enables it to produce a wide variety of sounds.{{sfn|Smith|Schenk|2019|page=73}} The trachea is a long tube embedded with cartilaginous rings that prevent the tube from collapsing as air moves in and out of the lungs. The trachea then splits into a left and right bronchus, which meet the lungs at a structure called the hilum. From there, the bronchi split into progressively more narrow and numerous branches. The bronchi branch into bronchioles, into respiratory bronchioles, and ultimately terminate at the alveolar ducts. The branching that is typically found in rabbit lungs is a clear example of monopodial branching, in which smaller branches divide out laterally from a larger central branch.<ref name="Autifi 2015" />

The structure of the rabbit's nasal and oral cavities necessitates breathing through the nose. This is due to the fact that the epiglottis is fixed to the backmost portion of the soft palate.<ref name="Jekl 2012" /> Within the oral cavity, a layer of tissue sits over the opening of the glottis, which blocks airflow from the oral cavity to the trachea.<ref name="Johnson-Delaney 2011">{{Cite journal|last1=Johnson-Delaney|first1=Cathy A.|last2=Orosz|first2=Susan E.|year=2011|title=Rabbit Respiratory System: Clinical Anatomy, Physiology and Disease|journal=Veterinary Clinics of North America: Exotic Animal Practice|language=en|volume=14|issue=2|pages=257–266|doi=10.1016/j.cvex.2011.03.002|pmid=21601814}}</ref> The epiglottis functions to prevent the rabbit from aspirating on its food. Further, the presence of a soft and hard palate allow the rabbit to breathe through its nose while it feeds.{{sfn|Smith|Schenk|2019|page=76}}

[[File:Monopodial branching in Rabbit Lungs.jpg|thumb|Monopodial branching as seen in dissected rabbit lungs]]

Rabbits' lungs are divided into four lobes: the cranial, middle, caudal, and accessory lobes. The right lung is made up of all four lobes, while the left lung only has two: the cranial and caudal lobes.<ref name="Autifi 2015">{{Cite journal|last1=Autifi|first1=Mohamed Abdul Haye|last2=El-Banna|first2=Ahmed Kamal|last3=Ebaid|first3=Ashraf El- Sayed|date=2015|title=Morphological Study of Rabbit Lung, Bronchial Tree, and Pulmonary Vessels Using Corrosion Cast Technique|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326010899|journal=Al-Azhar Assiut Medical Journal|volume=13|issue=3|pages=41–51}}</ref> To provide space for the heart, the left cranial lobe of the lungs is significantly smaller than that of the right.<ref name="Johnson-Delaney 2011" /> The diaphragm is a muscular structure that lies caudal to the lungs and contracts to facilitate respiration.<ref name="Johnson-Delaney 2011" /><ref name="Jekl 2012" />{{Anchor|title=Diet and eating habits|reason="Diet and eating habits" is the old section name, which was changed to "Digestion" on 24 February 2018 and then "Diet and digestion" on 8 July 2024}}

===Diet and digestion===
{{Main|Cecotrope}}

Rabbits are strict herbivores<ref name=":9" /><ref name=":10" /> and are suited to a diet high in fiber, mostly in the form of cellulose. They will typically graze grass upon waking up and emerging from a burrow, and will move on to consume vegetation and other plants throughout the waking period; rabbits have been known to eat a wide variety of plants, including tree leaves and fruits, though consumption of fruit and lower fiber foods is common for pet rabbits where natural vegetation is scarce.{{sfn|Varga|2013|pages=13-33}}

Easily digestible food is processed in the gastrointestinal tract and expelled as regular feces. To get nutrients out of hard to digest fiber, rabbits ferment fiber in the cecum (part of the gastrointestinal tract) and then expel the contents as cecotropes, which are reingested (cecotrophy or refection). The cecotropes are then absorbed in the small intestine to use the nutrients.<ref>{{Cite book|editor-first1=Katherine |editor-last1=Quesenberry |editor-first2=Connie J. |editor-last2=Orcutt |editor-first3=Christoph |editor-last3=Mans |editor-first4=James W. |editor-last4=Carpenter |first1=Susan M. |last1=Smith |title=Ferrets, Rabbits, and Rodents: Clinical Medicine and Surgery |edition=4th |date=2020 |chapter=Gastrointestinal Physiology and Nutrition of Rabbits |doi=10.1016/B978-0-323-48435-0.00013-7 |pages=162–173|isbn=978-0-323-48435-0 }}</ref> Soft cecotropes are usually consumed during periods of rest in underground burrows.{{sfn|Varga|2013|pages=13-33}}

[[File:Male rabbit genitalia.pdf|thumb|left|Dissected image of the male rabbit reproductive system with key structures labeled]]
Rabbits cannot vomit;<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bqz9-IUUwdcC&pg=PA359|page=359|title=The Experimental Animal in Biomedical Research: Care, Husbandry, and Well-Being-An Overview by Species, Volume 2|author=Bernard E. Rollin|publisher=CRC Press|date= 13 Mar 1995|isbn=978-0-8493-4982-9}}</ref> and therefore if buildup occurs within the intestines (due often to a diet with insufficient fibre),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.extension.org/pages/61402/the-digestive-system-of-the-rabbit|title=The Digestive System of the Rabbit|last=Karr-Lilienthal, Phd (University of Nebraska – Lincoln)|first=Lisa|date=4 November 2011|website=eXtension (a Part of the Cooperative Extension Service)|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180106120117/http://articles.extension.org/pages/61402/the-digestive-system-of-the-rabbit|archive-date=6 January 2018|url-status=live|access-date=5 January 2018|df=dmy-all}}</ref> intestinal blockage can occur.<ref>{{cite web |title=Living with a House Rabbit |url=http://rabbitsinthehouse.org/?page_id=60 |access-date=21 September 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170921095830/http://rabbitsinthehouse.org/?page_id=60 |archive-date=21 September 2017 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

===Reproduction===
[[File:Male rabbit reproduction system.png|thumb|Diagram of the male rabbit reproductive system with main components labeled]]
The adult male reproductive system forms the same as most mammals with the seminiferous tubular compartment containing the Sertoli cells and an adluminal compartment that contains the Leydig cells.<ref name="Foote 2000">{{Cite journal|last1=Foote|first1=Robert H|last2=Carney|first2=Edward W|year=2000|title=The rabbit as a model for reproductive and developmental toxicity studies|journal=Reproductive Toxicology|volume=14|issue=6|pages=477–493|doi=10.1016/s0890-6238(00)00101-5|pmid=11099874|bibcode=2000RepTx..14..477F |issn=0890-6238}}</ref> The Leydig cells produce testosterone, which maintains libido<ref name="Foote 2000" /> and creates secondary sex characteristics such as the genital tubercle and penis. The Sertoli cells triggers the production of Anti-Müllerian duct hormone, which absorbs the Müllerian duct. In an adult male rabbit, the sheath of the penis is cylinder-like and can be extruded as early as two months of age.<ref name="LafeberVet repro basics">{{cite web|last=Pollock |first=C.|url=https://lafeber.com/vet/rabbit-reproduction-basics/|title=Rabbit Reproduction Basics|date=2014-05-05|website=LafeberVet|language=en-US|access-date=2024-09-18}}</ref> The scrotal sacs lay lateral to the penis and contain epididymal fat pads which protect the testes. Between 10 and 14 weeks, the testes descend and are able to retract into the pelvic cavity to thermoregulate.<ref name="LafeberVet repro basics" /> Furthermore, the secondary sex characteristics, such as the testes, are complex and secrete many compounds. These compounds include fructose, citric acid, minerals, and a uniquely high amount of catalase,<ref name="Foote 2000" /> all of which affect the characteristics of rabbit semen; for instance, citric acid is positively correlated with agglutination,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Holtz |first1=W. |last2=Foote |first2=R. H. |date=1978-03-01 |title=Composition of Rabbit Semen and the Origin of Several Constituents |url=https://academic.oup.com/biolreprod/article/2767506/Composition |journal=Biology of Reproduction |language=en |volume=18 |issue=2 |pages=286–292 |doi=10.1095/biolreprod18.2.286 |pmid=630026 |issn=0006-3363}}</ref> and high amounts of catalase protect against premature capacitation.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Foote |first1=Robert H. |last2=Hare |first2=Elizabeth |date=2000-09-10 |title=High Catalase Content of Rabbit Semen Appears to be Inherited |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/j.1939-4640.2000.tb02134.x |journal=Journal of Andrology |language=en |volume=21 |issue=5 |pages=664–668 |doi=10.1002/j.1939-4640.2000.tb02134.x |pmid=10975413 |issn=0196-3635}}</ref>

[[File:Female repro system labelled.JPG|thumb|Diagram of the female rabbit reproductive system with main components labeled]]
The adult female reproductive tract is bipartite, which prevents an embryo from translocating between uteri.<ref>{{Cite book|date=1974|title=The Biology of the Laboratory Rabbit|doi=10.1016/c2013-0-11681-9|isbn=978-0-12-742150-6|last1=Weisbroth|first1=Steven H.|last2=Flatt|first2=Ronald E.|last3=Kraus|first3=Alan L.}}</ref> The female urethra and vagina open into a urogenital sinus with a single urogenital opening.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Lukefahr |first1=Steven D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uhBuEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22Urogenital+opening%22&pg=PA169 |title=Rabbit Production, 10th Edition |last2=McNitt |first2=James I. |last3=Cheeke |first3=Peter R. |last4=Patton |first4=Nephi M. |date=2022-04-29 |publisher=CABI |isbn=978-1-78924-978-1 |language=en}}</ref> The two uterine horns communicate to two cervixes and forms one vaginal canal. Along with being bipartite, the female rabbit does not go through an estrus cycle, which causes mating induced ovulation.<ref name="LafeberVet repro basics" />

The average female rabbit becomes sexually mature at three to eight months of age and can conceive at any time of the year for the duration of her life. Egg and sperm production can begin to decline after three years,<ref name="Foote 2000" /> with some species such as those in genus ''Oryctolagus'' completely stopping reproduction at 6 years of age.{{sfn|Nowak|1999|page=1730}} During mating, the male rabbit will insert his penis into the female from behind, make rapid pelvic thrusts until ejaculation, and throw himself backward off the female. Copulation lasts only 20–40 seconds.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://florida4h.org/projects/rabbits/MarketRabbits/Activity8_Mating4.html|title=Understanding the Mating Process for Breeding Rabbits|website=florida4h.org|access-date=2019-04-12}}</ref>

The rabbit gestation period is short and ranges from 27 to 30 days.<ref name=":9" /> A longer gestation period will generally yield a smaller litter while shorter gestation periods will give birth to a larger litter. The size of a single litter can range from 1 to 12 kits, depending on species.{{sfn|Nowak|1999|pages=1720-1732}} After birth, the only role of males is to protect the young from other rabbits, and the mother will leave the young in the nest most of the day, returning to nurse them once every 24 hours.<ref name=":9" /> The female can become pregnant again as early as the next day.<ref name="LafeberVet repro basics" />

After mating, the doe will begin to dig a burrow or prepare a nest before giving birth. Between three days and a few hours before giving birth another series of hormonal changes will cause her to prepare the nest structure. The doe will first gather grass for a structure, and an elevation in prolactin shortly before birth will cause her fur to shed that the doe will then use to line the nest, providing insulation for the newborn kits.<ref name="stress">{{cite journal |last1=Benedek |first1=I |last2=Altbӓcker |first2=V |last3=Molnár |first3=T |date=2021 |title=Stress reactivity near birth affects nest building timing and offspring number and survival in the European rabbit (''Oryctolagus cuniculus''). |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=16 |issue=1 |pages=e0246258 |bibcode=2021PLoSO..1646258B |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0246258 |pmc=7845978 |pmid=33513198 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

The mortality rates of embryos are high in rabbits and can be due to infection, trauma, poor nutrition and environmental stress. A high fertility rate is necessary to counter this.<ref name="LafeberVet repro basics" /> More than half of rabbit pregnancies are aborted, causing embryos to be resorbed into the mother's body;{{sfn|Nowak|1999|page=1730}} vitamin deficiencies are a major cause of abortions in domestic rabbits.{{sfn|Varga|2013|pages=34-38}}

===Sleep===
{{Further|Sleep in animals}}

Rabbits may appear to be crepuscular, but many species<ref name=":9" /> are naturally inclined towards nocturnal activity.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jilge |first1=B |year=1991 |title=The rabbit: a diurnal or a nocturnal animal? |journal=Journal of Experimental Animal Science |volume=34 |issue=5–6 |pages=170–183 |pmid=1814463 }}</ref> In 2011, the average sleep time of a rabbit in captivity was calculated at 8.4 hours per day;<ref>{{Cite journal|title=40 Winks? |first=Jennifer S. |last=Holland |journal=National Geographic |volume= 220 |issue=1 |date=July 2011}}</ref> previous studies have estimated sleep periods as long as 11.4 hours on average, undergoing both slow-wave and rapid eye movement sleep.<ref>{{Cite journal|doi=10.1016/S0163-1047(86)80016-4 |title=Sleep—wakefulness rhythms in the rabbit |first1=R.T. |last1=Pivik |first2=F.W. |last2=Bylsma |first3=P. |last3=Cooper |journal=Behavioral and Neural Biology |volume= 45| issue= 3 |date=May 1986 |pages= 275–286|pmid=3718392 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|doi=10.1111/ejn.14265 |last1=Aguilar-Roblero |first1=R |last2=González-Mariscal |first2=G. |title=Behavioral, neuroendocrine and physiological indicators of the circadian biology of male and female rabbits |issue=1 |journal= Eur J Neurosci |date= 2020 |volume=51 |pages=429–453|pmid=30408249 }}</ref> Newborn rabbits will sleep for 22 hours a day before leaving the nest.{{sfn|Varga|2013|pages=84-85}} As with other prey animals, rabbits often sleep with their eyes open, so that sudden movements will awaken the rabbit to respond to potential danger.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://rabbit.org/health/the-rabbit-eye-a-complete-guide |title=The Rabbit Eye: A Complete Guide |publisher= Rabbit.Org Foundation |first=Paige K. |last=Parsons |access-date=September 17, 2024}}</ref>

{{Anchor|Rabbit diseases|Diseases|Immunity|reason="Rabbit diseases" is the old section name, which was changed to "Diseases" on 24 February 2018}}

===Diseases and immunity===
{{see also|Rabbit health|:Category:Rabbit diseases}}

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 myxomatosis,<ref name=":2" /> and a form of calicivirus which causes rabbit hemorrhagic disease.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://www.publish.csiro.au/pid/6508.htm |title=Australia's War Against Rabbits |author1=Cooke, Brian Douglas |publisher=CSIRO Publishing |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-643-09612-7 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140607140214/http://www.publish.csiro.au/pid/6508.htm |archive-date=7 June 2014 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Myxomatosis is more hazardous to pet rabbits, as wild rabbits often have some immunity.<ref>{{multiref2|{{cite journal |last=Meredith |first=A |title=Viral skin diseases of the rabbit |journal=Veterinary Clinics of North America: Exotic Animal Practice |date=2013 |volume=16 |issue=3 |pages=705–714 |doi=10.1016/j.cvex.2013.05.010|pmid=24018033 |ref=none}}|{{cite journal |last=Kerr |first=P |title=Genomic and phenotypic characterization of myxoma virus from Great Britain reveals multiple evolutionary pathways distinct from those in Australia |journal=PLOS Pathogens |volume=13 |issue=3 |pages=e1006252 |date=2017|pmc=5349684 |pmid=28253375 |doi=10.1371/journal.ppat.1006252 |doi-access=free |ref=none}}}}</ref> Among the parasites that infect rabbits are tapeworms (such as ''Taenia serialis)'', external parasites (including fleas and mites), coccidia species, ''Encephalitozoon cuniculi'',<ref name="nat lib cuniculi">{{cite journal|title=''Encephalitozoon cuniculi'' in pet rabbits: diagnosis and optimal management|last=Latney|first=La'Toya|journal= Veterinary Medicine: Research and Reports|date=2014 |volume=5 |pages=169–180 |doi=10.2147/VMRR.S49842 |doi-access=free |pmid=32670857 |pmc=7337189 }}</ref> and ''Toxoplasma gondii''.<ref>{{cite web |last=Wood |first=Maggie |title=Parasites of Rabbits |url=http://www.exoticpetvet.com/breeds/rabbitexpectations142.htm |work=Chicago Exotics, PC |access-date=8 April 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130302084348/http://www.exoticpetvet.com/breeds/rabbitexpectations142.htm |archive-date=2 March 2013 |df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Boschert |first=Ken |title=Internal Parasites of Rabbits |url=http://netvet.wustl.edu/species/rabbits/rabparas.txt |work=Net Vet |access-date=8 April 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130402055049/http://netvet.wustl.edu/species/rabbits/rabparas.txt |archive-date=2 April 2013 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Domesticated rabbits with a diet lacking in high-fiber sources, such as hay and grass, are susceptible to potentially lethal gastrointestinal stasis.<ref>{{cite web |last=Krempels |first=Dana |title=GastroIntestinal Stasis, The Silent Killer |url=http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.html |work=Department of Biology at the University of Miami |access-date=21 September 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170619101231/http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.html |archive-date=19 June 2017 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Rabbits and hares are almost never found to be infected with rabies and have not been known to transmit rabies to humans.<ref name="CDCRabies">{{cite web |title=Rabies: Other Wild Animals |url=https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/exposure/animals/other.html |publisher=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |access-date=20 December 2012 |date=15 November 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101220085305/http://www.cdc.gov/rabies/exposure/animals/other.html |archive-date=20 December 2010 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

Rabbit hemorrhagic disease (RHD) is a highly infectious rabbit-specific disease caused by strains of rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV), including type 2 (RHDV2).<ref name="RHDV2">{{cite web | title=Rabbit hemorrhagic disease | website=American Veterinary Medical Association | url=https://www.avma.org/resources-tools/animal-health-and-welfare/animal-health/rabbit-hemorrhagic-disease | access-date=2022-08-07}}</ref> The disease was first described in domestic Angora rabbits imported from Germany to Jiangsu, China in 1984, and quickly spread to Korea, Italy, and the rest of Europe. The disease spread to the Americas from 1988, first appearing in rabbits imported to Mexico, but subsequent outbreaks were infrequent, as RHDV only affected the European rabbit species.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Abrantes |first1=Joana |last2=van der Loo |first2=Wessel |last3=Le Pendu |first3=Jacques |last4=Esteves |first4=Pedro J. |date=2012-02-10 |title=Rabbit haemorrhagic disease (RHD) and rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV): a review |journal=Veterinary Research |volume=43 |issue=1 |pages=12 |doi=10.1186/1297-9716-43-12 |doi-access=free |issn=1297-9716 |pmc=3331820 |pmid=22325049}}</ref> RHDV2, a strain of RHD-causing virus that affects both domestic and wild lagomorphs, such as hares, was detected for the first time in France in 2010.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bárcena |first1=Juan |last2=Guerra |first2=Beatriz |last3=Angulo |first3=Iván |last4=González |first4=Julia |last5=Valcárcel |first5=Félix |last6=Mata |first6=Carlos P. |last7=Castón |first7=José R. |last8=Blanco |first8=Esther |last9=Alejo |first9=Alí |date=2015-09-24 |title=Comparative analysis of rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV) and new RHDV2 virus antigenicity, using specific virus-like particles |journal=Veterinary Research |volume=46 |issue=1 |pages=106 |doi=10.1186/s13567-015-0245-5 |doi-access=free |issn=1297-9716 |pmc=4581117 |pmid=26403184}}</ref> RHDV2 has since spread to the rest of Europe, Canada,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ambagala |first1=Aruna |last2=Schwantje |first2=Helen |last3=Laurendeau |first3=Sonja |last4=Snyman |first4=Heindrich |last5=Joseph |first5=Tomy |last6=Pickering |first6=Bradley |last7=Hooper-McGrevy |first7=Kathleen |last8=Babiuk |first8=Shawn |last9=Moffat |first9=Estella |last10=Lamboo |first10=Lindsey |last11=Lung |first11=Oliver |last12=Goolia |first12=Melissa |last13=Pinette |first13=Mathieu |last14=Embury-Hyatt |first14=Carissa |date=July 2021 |title=Incursions of rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus 2 in Canada—Clinical, molecular and epidemiological investigation |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/tbed.14128 |journal=Transboundary and Emerging Diseases |language=en |volume=68 |issue=4 |pages=1711–1720 |doi=10.1111/tbed.14128 |pmid=33915034 |issn=1865-1674|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Australia,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ramsey |first1=David S. |last2=Patel |first2=Kandarp K. |last3=Campbell |first3=Susan |last4=Hall |first4=Robyn N. |last5=Taggart |first5=Patrick L. |last6=Strive |first6=Tanja |date=2023-05-12 |title=Sustained Impact of RHDV2 on Wild Rabbit Populations across Australia Eight Years after Its Initial Detection |journal=Viruses |language=en |volume=15 |issue=5 |pages=1159 |doi=10.3390/v15051159 |doi-access=free |issn=1999-4915 |pmc=10223972 |pmid=37243245}}</ref> and the United States.<ref name="washington-state">{{cite web | title=Deadly rabbit disease confirmed in Thurston County; vets urge vaccination | website=Washington State Department of Agriculture | date=2020-09-25 | url=https://agr.wa.gov/about-wsda/news-and-media-relations/news-releases?article=35585&culture=en-US | access-date=2022-08-07}}</ref><ref name="RHDV2" />

==Ecology==
[[File:Rabbit 1hr old gnangarra.jpg|thumb|Rabbit kits one hour after birth]]
Rabbits are prey animals. In Mediterranean Europe, for example, rabbits are the main prey of red foxes, badgers, and Iberian lynxes.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Fedriani, J. M. |author2=Palomares, F. |author3=Delibes, M. |year=1999 |title=Niche relations among three sympatric Mediterranean carnivores |jstor=4222449 |journal=Oecologia |volume=121 |issue=1 |pages=138–148 |url=http://www.uam.es/personal_pdi/ciencias/jonate/Ecologia/Tema%2023/Fedriani.pdf |doi=10.1007/s004420050915 |pmid=28307883 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304190836/http://www.uam.es/personal_pdi/ciencias/jonate/Ecologia/Tema%2023/Fedriani.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2016 |df=dmy-all |citeseerx=10.1.1.587.7215 |bibcode=1999Oecol.121..138F |s2cid=39202154 }}</ref> To avoid predation and to navigate underground, rabbits have heightened senses (compared to humans) and are constantly aware of their surroundings. If confronted by a potential threat, a rabbit may freeze and observe, then warn others in the warren with powerful thumps on the ground from a hind foot. Rabbits have a remarkably wide field of vision, and a good deal of it is devoted to overhead scanning.<ref name="Tynes">{{Cite book|last=Tynes |first=Valarie V. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kPFW95tjKpQC&pg=PA70 |pages=70–73 |title=Behavior of Exotic Pets |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160506173801/https://books.google.com/books?id=kPFW95tjKpQC&lpg=PA70 |archive-date=6 May 2016 |publisher=Wiley Blackwell |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-8138-0078-3 |url-status=live}}</ref> A rabbit eye has no fovea, but a "visual streak", a horizontal line in the middle of the retina where both rod and cone cell densities are the highest. This allows them to scan the horizon with little head turning.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bringmann |first1=Andreas |last2=Syrbe |first2=Steffen |last3=Görner |first3=Katja |last4=Kacza |first4=Johannes |last5=Francke |first5=Mike |last6=Wiedemann |first6=Peter |last7=Reichenbach |first7=Andreas |date=2018-09-01 |title=The primate fovea: Structure, function and development |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1350946217301167 |journal=Progress in Retinal and Eye Research |volume=66 |pages=49–84 |doi=10.1016/j.preteyeres.2018.03.006 |pmid=29609042 |issn=1350-9462|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lavaud |first1=Arnold |last2=Soukup |first2=Petr |last3=Martin |first3=Louise |last4=Hartnack |first4=Sonja |last5=Pot |first5=Simon |date=2020-04-23 |title=Spectral Domain Optical Coherence Tomography in Awake Rabbits Allows Identification of the Visual Streak, a Comparison with Histology |url=https://tvst.arvojournals.org/article.aspx?articleid=2765151 |journal=Translational Vision Science & Technology |language=en |volume=9 |issue=5 |pages=13 |doi=10.1167/tvst.9.5.13 |issn=2164-2591 |pmc=7401941 |pmid=32821485}}</ref>

Rabbits survive predation by burrowing (in some species),{{Sfn|Varga|2013|p=3-4}} and hopping away<ref name=":7" /> to dense cover.<ref name=":9" /> Their strong teeth allow them to bite to escape a struggle.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Davis |first1=Susan E. |last2=DeMello |first2=Margo |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZCS5yfJ7NAEC&pg=PA27 |title=Stories Rabbits Tell: A Natural And Cultural History of A Misunderstood Creature |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160506182606/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZCS5yfJ7NAEC&lpg=PA27 |archive-date=6 May 2016 |publisher=Lantern Books |year=2003 |page=27 |isbn=978-1-59056-044-0 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The longest-lived rabbit on record, a domesticated European rabbit living in Tasmania, died at age 18.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Guinness World Records 2014|last=Glenday|first=Craig|year=2013|isbn=978-1-908843-15-9|pages=[https://archive.org/details/guinnessworldrec0000unse_r3e7/page/043 043]|publisher=Guinness World Records Limited |url=https://archive.org/details/guinnessworldrec0000unse_r3e7/page/043}}</ref> The lifespan of wild rabbits is much shorter; the average longevity of an eastern cottontail, for instance, is about one<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.in.gov/dnr/fish-and-wildlife/wildlife-resources/animals/cottontail-rabbit/ |title=Cottontail rabbit |website=Indiana Department of Natural Resources |date=29 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240529151818/https://www.in.gov/dnr/fish-and-wildlife/wildlife-resources/animals/cottontail-rabbit/ |archive-date=29 May 2024 |url-status=live}}</ref> to five years.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.demogr.mpg.de/longevityrecords/ |first1=James R. |last1=Carey |first2=Debra S. |last2=Judge |title=Longevity Records |series=Monographs on Population Aging |date=2000 |volume=8 |publisher=Odense University Press |isbn=87-7838-539-3 |issn=0909-119X }}</ref> The various species of rabbit have been recorded as living from four<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Brachylagus_idahoensis |title=AnAge entry for ''Brachylagus idahoensis'' |website=AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database |publisher=Human Ageing Genomic Resources |access-date=8 October 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|first=Richard |last=Weigl |year=2005 |title=Longevity of Mammals in Captivity; from the Living Collections of the World |publisher=Kleine Senckenberg-Reihe 48 |location=Stuttgart}}</ref> to 13 years in captivity.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Oryctolagus_cuniculus |title=AnAge entry for ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' |website=AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database |publisher=Human Ageing Genomic Resources |access-date=8 October 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|doi=10.1371/journal.pbio.3000432 |pmid=31518381 |title=Variation in actuarial senescence does not reflect life span variation across mammals |first1=Guillaume |last1=Péron |first2=Jean-François |last2=Lemaître |first3=Victor |last3=Ronget |first4=Morgane |last4=Tidière |first5=Jean-Michel |last5=Gaillard |journal=PLoS Biol. |date=September 13, 2019 |volume=17 |issue=9|pages=e3000432 |doi-access=free |pmc=6760812 }}</ref>

===Habitat and range===
[[File:Swamp Rabbit- Sylvilagus aquaticus (50743049841).jpg|thumb|''Sylvilagus aquaticus'' (swamp rabbit) in its natural habitat]]
Rabbit habitats include forests, steppes, plateaus, deserts,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ge |first1=Deyan |last2=Wen |first2=Zhixin |last3=Xia |first3=Lin |last4=Zhang |first4=Zhaoqun |last5=Erbajeva |first5=Margarita |last6=Huang |first6=Chengming |last7=Yang |first7=Qisen |date=2013-04-03 |editor-last=Evans |editor-first=Alistair Robert |title=Evolutionary History of Lagomorphs in Response to Global Environmental Change |journal=PLOS ONE |language=en |volume=8 |issue=4 |pages=e59668 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0059668 |doi-access=free |issn=1932-6203 |pmc=3616043 |pmid=23573205|bibcode=2013PLoSO...859668G }}</ref> and swamps.<ref name="ADW">[http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Sylvilagus_aquaticus/ ''Sylvilagus aquaticus'' (swamp rabbit)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130527121510/http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Sylvilagus_aquaticus/|date=2013-05-27}}, Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology.</ref> Some species, such as the volcano rabbit (''Romerolagus diazi'') have especially limited distribution due to their habitat needs.<ref>{{Citation |last=Caravaggi |first=Anthony |title=Lagomorpha Life History |date=2022 |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior |pages=3826–3834 |editor-last=Vonk |editor-first=Jennifer |url=https://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-319-55065-7_1206 |access-date=2024-11-13 |place=Cham |publisher=Springer International Publishing |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-55065-7_1206 |isbn=978-3-319-55064-0 |editor2-last=Shackelford |editor2-first=Todd K.|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Rabbits live in groups, or colonies, varying in behavior depending on species and often using the burrows of other animals or creating nests in holes.{{Sfn|Varga|2013|p=3-4}} The European rabbit notably lives in extensive burrow networks called ''warrens''.<ref name="EcologyOcun">{{Cite journal|doi=10.1111/j.1744-7348.1940.tb07522.x |title=The ecology and population dynamics of the wild rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) |last=Southern |first=H. N. |journal=Annals of Applied Biology |date=November 1940 |volume=27 |issue=4 |pages=509–526}}</ref>

Rabbits are native to North America, southwestern Europe, Southeast Asia, Sumatra, some islands of Japan, and parts of Africa and South America. They are not naturally found in most of Eurasia, where a number of species of hares are present.<ref name=Marshall1982 /> A 2003 study on domestic rabbits in China found that "(so-called) Chinese rabbits were introduced from Europe", and that "genetic diversity in Chinese rabbits was very low".<ref name=":4" />

Rabbits first entered South America relatively recently, as part of the Great American Interchange.<ref name=Marshall1982>{{Cite journal |last1=Marshall |first1=Larry G. |last2=Webb |first2=S. David |last3=Sepkoski |first3=J. John |last4=Raup |first4=David M. |date=1982 |title=Mammalian Evolution and the Great American Interchange |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1688046 |journal=Science |volume=215 |issue=4538 |pages=1351–1357 |doi=10.1126/science.215.4538.1351 |jstor=1688046 |pmid=17753000 |bibcode=1982Sci...215.1351M |issn=0036-8075|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Much of the continent was considered to have just one species of rabbit, the tapeti,<ref name="Emmons 1997">{{cite book |author1=Emmons |first=Louise H. |url=https://archive.org/details/neotropicalrainf0000emmo/mode/2up |title=Neotropical Rainforest Mammals: A Field Guide |author2=Feer, Francois |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=1990 |pages=227–228 |language=en |url-access=registration}}</ref>{{Efn|In addition to the common tapeti, several other species in genus ''Sylvilagus'' are known to inhabit South and Central America: the Andean tapeti, the Central American tapeti, the coastal tapeti, the Santa Marta tapeti, and the Venezuelan lowland rabbit.}} and most of South America's Southern Cone has had no rabbits until the introduction of the European rabbit, which has been introduced to many places around the world,<ref name="Encyclopædia Britannica" /> in the late 19th century.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Cassini |first1=Marcelo H. |last2=Rivas |first2=Luciano |date=August 2023 |title=Lack of evidence of significant impact of European rabbits on Patagonian forest regeneration |url=https://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10344-023-01710-1 |journal=European Journal of Wildlife Research |language=en |volume=69 |issue=4 |page=74 |doi=10.1007/s10344-023-01710-1 |bibcode=2023EJWR...69...74C |issn=1612-4642|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Rabbits have been launched into space orbit.<ref name=Beischer1962>{{cite journal |author1=Beischer, DE |author2=Fregly, AR |title=Animals and man in space. A chronology and annotated bibliography through the year 1960 |journal=US Naval School of Aviation Medicine |volume=ONR TR ACR-64 |issue=AD0272581 |year=1962 |url=https://archive.org/details/AnimalsAndManInSpaceChronologyAndBibliography |access-date=10 September 2024 }}</ref>

===Marking===
Both sexes of rabbits often rub their chins on objects with their scent gland located under the chin. This is the rabbit's way of marking their territory or possessions for other rabbits to recognize by depositing scent gland secretions. Rabbits who have bonded will respect each other's smell, which indicates a territorial border.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hoffman |first1=Kurt L. |last2=Hernández Decasa |first2=D. M. |last3=Beyer Ruiz |first3=M. E. |last4=González-Mariscal |first4=Gabriela |date=2010-03-05 |title=Scent marking by the male domestic rabbit (''Oryctolagus cuniculus'') is stimulated by an object's novelty and its specific visual or tactile characteristics |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0166432809006299 |journal=Behavioural Brain Research |volume=207 |issue=2 |pages=360–367 |doi=10.1016/j.bbr.2009.10.021 |pmid=19857527 |s2cid=10827948 |issn=0166-4328|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Rabbits also have scent glands that produce a strong-smelling waxy substance near their anuses.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Scent glands |url=https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/scent-glands/ |access-date=2024-09-10 |website=Rabbit Welfare Association & Fund (RWAF) |language=en-GB}}</ref> Territorial marking by scent glands has been documented among both domestic<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Arteaga |first1=Lourdes |last2=Bautista |first2=Amando |last3=Martínez-Gómez |first3=Margarita |last4=Nicolás |first4=Leticia |last5=Hudson |first5=Robyn |date=June 2008 |title=Scent marking, dominance and serum testosterone levels in male domestic rabbits |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0031938408000784 |journal=Physiology & Behavior |language=en |volume=94 |issue=3 |pages=510–515 |doi=10.1016/j.physbeh.2008.03.005|pmid=18436270 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> and wild rabbit species.<ref name=":9" />

===Environmental problems===
{{See also|European rabbit#As an introduced species}}
[[File:Rabbit fence Cobar October 1905.jpg|thumb|Impact of rabbit-proof fence, Cobar, New South Wales, 1905]]
Rabbits, particularly the European rabbit,<ref name=":9" /> 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, feral rabbit depredation can be problematic for agriculture. Gassing (fumigation of warrens),<ref>{{cite web |last1=Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development |last2=Agriculture and Food Division |last3=Pest and Disease Information Service (PaDIS) |title=Rabbit control: fumigation |url=https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/baits-poisons/rabbit-control-fumigation |website=agric.wa.gov.au |publisher=Government of Western Australia |access-date=25 September 2021 |language=en}}</ref> barriers (fences),<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Crawford |first=J S |date=1969 |title=History of the state vermin barrier fences, formerly known as rabbit proof fences |url=https://library.dpird.wa.gov.au/reports/14/ |access-date=3 May 2023 |journal=Research Reports}}</ref> shooting, snaring, and ferreting<ref>{{cite journal |last=Cowan |first=D. P. |date=1 December 1984 |title=The use of ferrets (Mustela furo) in the study and management of the European wild rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) |journal=Journal of Zoology |language=en |volume=204 |issue=4 |pages=570–574 |doi=10.1111/j.1469-7998.1984.tb02391.x |issn=1469-7998}}</ref><ref name=":14">{{cite book |last1=Williams |first1=Kent |title=Managing Vertebrate Pests: Rabbits |last2=Parer |first2=Ian |last3=Coman |first3=Brian |last4=Burley |first4=John |last5=Braysher |first5=Mike |date=1995 |publisher=Australian Govt. Pub. Service |isbn=978-0644296236 |location=Canberra |oclc=153977337}}</ref> have been used to control rabbit populations,<ref name=":14"/> but the most effective measures are diseases such as myxomatosis and calicivirus.<ref>{{Cite web |last=CSIRO |title=Biological control of rabbits |url=https://www.csiro.au/en/research/animals/pests/biological-control-of-rabbits |access-date=2024-10-09 |website=www.csiro.au |language=en}}</ref> In Europe, where domestic rabbits are farmed on a large scale, they can be protected against myxomatosis and calicivirus via vaccination.<ref name="Meredith 2013">{{cite journal |last=Meredith |first=A |date=2013 |title=Viral skin diseases of the rabbit |journal=Veterinary Clinics of North America: Exotic Animal Practice |volume=16 |issue=3 |pages=705–714 |doi=10.1016/j.cvex.2013.05.010 |pmid=24018033}}</ref> Rabbits in Australia and New Zealand are considered to be such a pest that landowners are legally obliged to control them.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/invasive/ferals/index.html |title=Feral animals in Australia&nbsp;— Invasive species |publisher=Environment.gov.au |date=1 February 2010 |access-date=30 August 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100721222513/http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/invasive/ferals/index.html |archive-date=21 July 2010 |df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref name="rabbit laws in NZ">{{cite web |url=http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/rabbits/7 |title=Rabbits&nbsp;— The role of government&nbsp;— Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand |publisher=Teara.govt.nz |date=1 March 2009 |access-date=30 August 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110612101254/http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/rabbits/7 |archive-date=12 June 2011 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

Rabbits are known to be able to catch fire and spread wildfires, particularly in Chile, where the European rabbit is an invasive species,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Pablo |first=Camus |last2=Sergio |first2=Castro |last3=Fabián |first3=Jaksic |date=2008 |title=Europen rabbits in Chile: the history of a biological invasion |url=https://socialsciences.scielo.org/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0717-71942008000100001&lng=es&nrm=iso |journal=Historia (Santiago) |volume=4 |issue=SE |issn=0717-7194 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20241219015415/http://socialsciences.scielo.org/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0717-71942008000100001&lng=es&nrm=iso |archive-date=2024-12-19}}</ref> but the efficiency and relevance of this mechanism has been doubted by forest experts who contend that a rabbit on fire could move some meters.<ref>{{Cite news |title="Es cierto": Experto confirma que conejos y otros animales en llamas sí pueden propagar incendios |url=https://www.biobiochile.cl/noticias/ciencia-y-tecnologia/ciencia/2023/02/23/es-cierto-experto-confirma-que-conejos-y-otros-animales-en-llamas-si-pueden-propagar-incendios.shtml |last=Jerez |first=Sara |date=2023-02-23 |access-date=2023-02-23 |work=Radio Bío-Bío |language=Spanish}}</ref><ref name=delmar>{{Cite news |title=Experto forestal: "Los conejos no son un agente significativo de propagación de incendios" |url=https://www.eldesconcierto.cl/bienes-comunes/2023/02/23/experto-forestal-los-conejos-no-son-un-agente-significativo-de-propagacion-de-incendios.html |last=del Mar Parra |first=Maria |date=2023-02-23 |access-date=2023-02-23 |work=El Desconcierto |language=Spanish}}</ref> Knowledge on fire-spreading rabbits is based on anecdotes as there is no known scientific investigation on the subject.<ref name=delmar/>

==As food and clothing==
{{Main|Cuniculture}}
{{category see also|Rabbit dishes}}
[[File:Coniglio olive pinoli.jpg|thumb|''Coniglio alla sanremese'']]

Humans have hunted rabbits for food since at least the onset of the Last Glacial Maximum,<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Seuru |first1=S. |last2=Perez |first2=L. |last3=Burke |first3=A. |year=2023|chapter= Why Were Rabbits Hunted in the Past? Insights from an Agent-Based Model of Human Diet Breadth in Iberia During the Last Glacial Maximum| editor-last1=Seuru |editor-first1=S. |editor-last2=Albouy |editor-first2=B. |title= Modelling Human-Environment Interactions in and beyond Prehistoric Europe. Themes in Contemporary Archaeology|publisher= Springer International Publishing |location= Cham |isbn=978-3-031-34335-3 | doi=10.1007/978-3-031-34336-0_7}}</ref> and wild rabbits and hares are still hunted for their meat as game.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bender |first=David A. |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780199234875.001.0001/acref-9780199234875 |title=A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2003 |edition=2nd |page=2335 |chapter=game |doi=10.1093/acref/9780199234875.001.0001 |isbn=978-0-19-923487-5 |chapter-url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780199234875.001.0001/acref-9780199234875-e-2309?rskey=w8Kjvd&result=3025}}</ref> Hunting is accomplished with the aid of trained falcons,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Southam |first=Hazel |date=July 2012 |title=Natural Selection |journal=Geographical |publisher=Geographical Magazine Ltd. |volume=84 |issue=7 |pages=40–43 |via=EBSCOhost}}</ref> ferrets,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Linduska |first=J. P. |date=1947 |title=The Ferret as an Aid to Winter Rabbit Studies |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3796283 |journal=The Journal of Wildlife Management |volume=11 |issue=3 |pages=252–255 |doi=10.2307/3796283 |jstor=3796283 |issn=0022-541X|url-access=subscription }}</ref> or dogs (a common hunting breed being beagles),<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=McKean |first=Andrew |date=October 2008 |title=Fall's Forgotten Hunt |journal=Outdoor Life |volume=215 |issue=9 |pages=58–62 |via=EBSCOhost}}</ref> as well as with snares,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Nickens |first=T. Edward |date=June 2020 |title=Snare a Rabbit |journal=Field & Stream |volume=125 |issue=2 |page=53 |via=EBSCOhost}}</ref> rifles and other guns.<ref name=":0" /> 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.<ref name="EtymRabbit">{{OEtymD|rabbit|accessdate=2024-09-17}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xZYZDgAAQBAJ |page=120 |last=Room |first=Adrian |year=2010 |title=Dictionary of Sports and Games Terminology |isbn=978-0-7864-5757-1 |publisher=McFarland }}</ref>

Wild leporids comprise a small portion of global rabbit-meat consumption. Domesticated descendants of the European rabbit (''Oryctolagus cuniculus'') that are bred and kept as livestock (a practice called cuniculture) account for the estimated 2{{Nbsp}}million tons of rabbit meat produced annually.<ref name=geng>Olivia Geng, [https://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2014/06/13/french-rabbit-heads-the-newest-delicacy-in-chinese-cuisine French Rabbit Heads: The Newest Delicacy in Chinese Cuisine] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170714001053/https://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2014/06/13/french-rabbit-heads-the-newest-delicacy-in-chinese-cuisine/ |date=14 July 2017 }}. The Wall Street Journal Blog, 13 June 2014</ref> Approximately 1.2&nbsp;billion rabbits are slaughtered each year for meat worldwide.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QL|title=FAOSTAT|website=FAO|access-date=2019-10-25}}</ref> In 1994, the countries with the highest consumption per capita of rabbit meat were Malta with {{convert|8.89|kg|lb|abbr=on}}, Italy with {{convert|5.71|kg|lb|abbr=on}}, and Cyprus with {{convert|4.37|kg|lb|abbr=on}}. The largest producers of rabbit meat were China, Russia, Italy (specifically Veneto<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Davidson |first=Alan |title=The Oxford Companion to Food |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2014 |isbn=9780191756276 |editor-last=Jaine |editor-first=Tom |edition=3rd |pages=1899–1901 |doi=10.1093/acref/9780199677337.001.0001}}</ref>), France, and Spain.<ref name="fao.org">[http://www.fao.org/docrep/t1690e/t1690e03.htm FAO – The Rabbit – Husbandry, health and production.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150423054344/http://www.fao.org/docrep/t1690e/t1690e03.htm |date=23 April 2015 }}</ref> Rabbit meat was once a common commodity in Sydney, with European rabbits having been introduced intentionally to Australia for hunting purposes,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Alves |first1=Joel M. |last2=Carneiro |first2=Miguel |last3=Day |first3=Jonathan P. |last4=Welch |first4=John J. |last5=Duckworth |first5=Janine A. |last6=Cox |first6=Tarnya E. |last7=Letnic |first7=Mike |last8=Strive |first8=Tanja |last9=Ferrand |first9=Nuno |last10=Jiggins |first10=Francis M. |date=2022-08-30 |title=A single introduction of wild rabbits triggered the biological invasion of Australia |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |volume=119 |issue=35 |pages=e2122734119 |doi=10.1073/pnas.2122734119 |doi-access=free |issn=1091-6490 |pmc=9436340 |pmid=35994668|bibcode=2022PNAS..11922734A }}</ref> but declined after the myxomatosis virus was intentionally introduced to control the exploding population of feral rabbits in the area.<ref>{{cite news |author=Alyse Edwards |date=20 Apr 2014 |title=Rabbit meat disappearing from consumers' tables as farmers struggle with spiralling costs |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-04-21/rabbit-meat-disappearing-from-australian-tables/5400586 |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref>

In the United Kingdom, fresh rabbits are sold in butcher shops and markets, and some supermarkets sell frozen rabbit meat. It is sold in farmers markets there, including the Borough Market in London.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Smith |first=Ed |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1LVyDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT55 |title=The Borough Market Cookbook: Recipes and stories from a year at the market |date=2018-10-04 |publisher=Hodder & Stoughton |isbn=978-1-4736-7869-9 |page=55 |language=en}}</ref> Rabbit meat is a feature of Moroccan cuisine, where it is cooked in a tajine with "raisins and grilled almonds added a few minutes before serving".<ref>'Traditional Moroccan Cooking, Recipes from Fez', by Madame Guinadeau. (Serif, London, 2003). {{ISBN|1-897959-43-5}}.</ref> In China, rabbit meat is particularly popular in Sichuan cuisine, with its stewed rabbit, spicy diced rabbit, BBQ-style rabbit, and even spicy rabbit heads, which have been compared to ''spicy duck neck''.<ref name=geng/> In the United States, rabbits sold as food are typically the domestic New Zealand, Belgian, and Chinese rabbits, or Scottish hares.<ref>{{cite web |date=12 January 2006 |title=Rabbit: From Farm to Table |url=http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Factsheets/Rabbit_from_Farm_to_Table/index.asp |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080705212650/http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Factsheets/Rabbit_from_Farm_to_Table/index.asp |archive-date=5 July 2008 |website=USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service }}</ref>

An infectious disease associated with rabbits-as-food is tularemia (also known as ''rabbit fever''), which may be contracted from an infected rabbit.<ref name=":5" /> The disease can cause symptoms of fever, skin ulcers and enlarged lymph nodes, and can occasionally lead to pneumonia or throat infection.<ref name="CDC2015Sym">{{cite web |date=15 May 2023 |title=Signs and Symptoms of Tularemia |url=https://www.cdc.gov/tularemia/signs-symptoms/?CDC_AAref_Val=https://www.cdc.gov/tularemia/signssymptoms/ |access-date=21 August 2024 |website=U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |language=en-us}}</ref> Secondary vectors of tularemia include tick and fly bites, which may be present in the fur of a caught rabbit.<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal |date=1927 |title=Seasonal Incidence of Tularaemia and Sources of Infection |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4578598 |journal=Public Health Reports |volume=42 |issue=48 |pages=2948–2951 |jstor=4578598 |issn=0094-6214}}</ref> Inhaling the bacteria during the skinning process increases the risk of getting tularemia;<ref>{{cite web |url=http://health.utah.gov/epi/fact_sheets/tularem.html |title=Tularemia (Rabbit fever) |publisher=Health.utah.gov |date=16 June 2003 |access-date=30 August 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100526071651/http://health.utah.gov/epi/fact_sheets/tularem.html |archive-date=26 May 2010 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> preventative measures against this include the use of gloves and face masks. Prior to the development of antibiotics, such as doxycycline and gentamicin, the death rate associated with tularemia infections was 60%, which has since decreased to less than 4%.<ref name="Man2014">{{cite book |last1=Penn |first1=R.L. |title=Francisella tularensis (Tularemia) In J. E. Bennett, R. Dolin, & M. J. Blaser (Eds.), Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett's Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases. |date=2014 |publisher=Churchill Livingstone |isbn=978-1-4557-4801-3 |edition=8th |location=Philadelphia, PA |pages=2590–2602}}</ref>

In addition to their meat, domestic rabbits are used for their wool<ref name="Angora Wool Production"/> and fur for clothing,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Xian |first=Vivian |date=2007 |title=China, Where American Mink Gets Glamour |url=https://apps.fas.usda.gov/newgainapi/api/Report/DownloadReportByFileName?fileName=China,%20Where%20American%20Mink%20Gets%20Glamour_Guangzhou%20ATO_China%20-%20Peoples%20Republic%20of_05-17-2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240320144432/https://apps.fas.usda.gov/newgainapi/api/Report/DownloadReportByFileName?fileName=China,%20Where%20American%20Mink%20Gets%20Glamour_Guangzhou%20ATO_China%20-%20Peoples%20Republic%20of_05-17-2007 |archive-date=March 20, 2024 |access-date=March 20, 2024 |website=USDA Foreign Agricultural Service Global Agriculture Information Network}}</ref> as well as their nitrogen-rich manure and their high-protein milk.<ref name="HoudebineFan2009">{{cite book |last1=Houdebine |first1=Louis-Marie |last2=Fan |first2=Jianglin |title=Rabbit Biotechnology: Rabbit Genomics, Transgenesis, Cloning and Models |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AYCC8FLbX2wC&pg=PA69 |access-date=26 February 2018 |date=1 June 2009 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=978-90-481-2226-4 |pages=68–72 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140426101257/http://books.google.com/books?id=AYCC8FLbX2wC&pg=PA69 |archive-date=26 April 2014 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Production industries have developed domesticated rabbit breeds (such as the Angora rabbit) for the purpose of meeting these needs.<ref name="rabprobreeds2"/> In 1986, the number of rabbit skins produced annually in France was as high as 70 million, compared to 25 million mink pelts produced at the same time. However, rabbit fur is on the whole a byproduct of rabbit meat production, whereas minks are bred primarily for fur production.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Lebas |first1=F. |last2=Coudert |first2=P. |last3=Rouvier |first3=R. |last4=de Rochambeau |first4=H. |date=1986 |title=The rabbit husbandry, health and production |chapter=Production of rabbit skins and angora wool |chapter-url=http://www.fao.org/docrep/x5082e/X5082E0h.htm |access-date=8 October 2024 |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations |series=FAO Animal Production and Health |location=Rome, Italy}}</ref>

{{Anchor|In culture and literature|reason="In culture and literature" is the old section name, which was changed to "In art, literature, and culture" on 2 March 2018}}

==In culture==
[[File:La Vierge au Lapin à la Loupe.jpg|thumb|Madonna of the Rabbit, a 16th-century painting depicting the white rabbit as a symbol of fertility and purity]]
{{Main|Rabbits and hares in art}}Rabbits are often posited by scholars as symbols of fertility,<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last=Stein |first=Sadie |date=31 March 2024 |title=Our Bunnies, Ourselves |url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A788166009/ITOF?u=wikipedia&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=1b6a6489 |journal=The New York Times Book Review |pages=22 |via=Gale General OneFile}}</ref> sexuality and spring, though they have been variously interpreted throughout history.<ref>{{cite web |last=Windling |first=Terri |authorlink=Terri Windling |date=2005 |title=The Symbolism of Rabbits and Hares |url=http://www.endicott-studio.com/rdrm/rrRabbits.html |url-status=usurped |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120503161949/http://www.endicott-studio.com/rdrm/rrRabbits.html |archivedate=3 May 2012 |publisher=Endicott Studio}}</ref> Up until the end of the 18th century, it was widely believed that rabbits and hares were hermaphrodites, contributing to a possible view of rabbits as "sexually aberrant".<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Harley |first=Marta Powell |date=1985 |title=Rosalind, the Hare, and the Hyena In Shakespeare's "As You Like It" |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2869713 |journal=Shakespeare Quarterly |volume=36 |issue=3 |pages=335–337 |doi=10.2307/2869713 |jstor=2869713 |issn=0037-3222|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The Easter Bunny is a figure from German folklore that then spread to America and later other parts of the world and is similar to Santa Claus, albeit both with softened roles compared to earlier incarnations of the figures.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cross |first=Gary |url= |title=The Cute and the Cool |date=2004-05-13 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-515666-9 |chapter=Holidays and New Rituals of Innocence |pages=83–120 |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195156669.003.0004 |chapter-url=http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195156669.001.0001/acprof-9780195156669}}</ref>

The rabbits' role as a prey animal with few defenses evokes vulnerability and innocence in folklore and modern children's stories, and rabbits appear as sympathetic characters, able to connect easily with youth, though this particular symbolic depiction only became popular in the 1930s following the massive popularization of the pet rabbit decades before.<ref name=":3" /> Additionally, they have not been limited to sympathetic depictions since then, as in literature such as ''Watership Down''<ref name="masterplots">{{Cite book |title=Masterplots II: Juvenile and Young Adult Fiction Series |publisher=Salem Press, Inc. |year=1991 |volume=4: ''Sev–Z, Indexes'' |chapter=Watership Downs}}</ref><ref name="maleChauvinistRabbits">{{cite news |last=Lanes |first=Selma G. |date=30 June 1974 |title=Male Chauvinist Rabbits |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1974/06/30/archives/the-guest-word-male-chauvinist-rabbits.html |access-date=10 July 2016 |newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> and the works of Ariel Dorfman.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Swier |first=Patricia L. |date=2013 |title=REBELLIOUS RABBITS: CHILDHOOD TRAUMA AND THE EMERGENCE OF THE UNCANNY IN TWO SOUTHERN CONE TEXTS |journal=Chasqui |language=es |volume=42 |issue=1 |pages=166–80 |via=EBSCOhost}}</ref> With its reputation as a prolific breeder, the rabbit juxtaposes sexuality with innocence, as in the Playboy Bunny.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kelly |first=John |date=2016-04-05 |title=The Erotic Rabbits of Easter |url=https://slate.com/human-interest/2016/04/the-sexual-linguistic-history-of-rabbit.html |access-date=2024-09-25 |work=Slate |language=en-US |issn=1091-2339}}</ref> The rabbit has also been used as a symbol of playfulness and endurance, as represented by the Energizer Bunny and the Duracell Bunny.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Fowles |first=Jib |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YkxMPOkSQ_0C |title=Advertising and Popular Culture |date=1996-01-23 |publisher=SAGE |isbn=978-0-8039-5483-0 |pages=1–9 |language=en}}</ref>

===Folklore and mythology===
{{Main|List of fictional hares and rabbits}}

The rabbit often appears in folklore as the trickster archetype, as he uses his cunning to outwit his enemies. In Central Africa, the common hare (''Kalulu'') is described as a trickster figure,<ref>Brian Morris, ''The Power of Animals: An Ethnography'', p. 177 (2000).</ref> and in Aztec mythology, a pantheon of four hundred rabbit gods known as Centzon Totochtin, led by Ometochtli or Two Rabbit, represented fertility, parties, and drunkenness.<ref name=":8">{{cite book |author=Miller, Mary |author-link=Mary Ellen Miller |url=https://archive.org/details/godssymbolsofa00mill |title=The Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya: An Illustrated Dictionary of Mesoamerican Religion |author2=Karl Taube |author-link2=Karl Taube |publisher=Thames & Hudson |year=1993 |isbn=0-500-05068-6 |location=London |pages=142 |oclc=27667317 |url-access=registration}}</ref> Rabbits in the Americas varied in mythological symbolism: in Aztec mythology, they were also associated with the moon,<ref name=":8" /> and in Anishinaabe traditional beliefs, held by the Ojibwe and some other Native American peoples, Nanabozho, or Great Rabbit,<ref name="auto">{{Cite web |title=Nanabozho (Nanabush, Nanabosho, Wenebojo, Nanapush, Manabus) |url=http://www.native-languages.org/nanabozho.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130328152256/http://www.native-languages.org/nanabozho.htm |archive-date=28 March 2013 |access-date=24 September 2024 |website=www.native-languages.org}}</ref> is an important deity related to the creation of the world.<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://faculty.marianopolis.edu/c.belanger/quebechistory/encyclopedia/NanabozhoIndianstoryofthecreation.htm |title=Handbook of Indians of Canada |date=1913 |editor-last=White |editor-first=James |pages=331–335 |chapter=Nanabozho and the Algonquin Story of the Creation of the World}}</ref> More broadly, a rabbit's foot may be carried as an amulet, believed to bring protection and good luck. This belief is found in many parts of the world, with the earliest use being recorded in Europe {{circa|600 BC}}.<ref name="Ellis">{{cite book |last1=Ellis |first1=Bill |title=Lucifer Ascending: The Occult in Folklore and Popular Culture |date=1 January 2004 |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |isbn=978-0-8131-2289-2}}</ref>

Rabbits also appear in Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese and Korean mythology, though rabbits are a relatively new introduction to some of these regions. In Chinese folklore, rabbits accompany Chang'e on the Moon,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lemei |first=Yang |date=2006 |title=China's Mid-Autumn Day |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4640212 |journal=Journal of Folklore Research |volume=43 |issue=3 |pages=263–270 |doi=10.2979/JFR.2006.43.3.263 |jstor=4640212 |issn=0737-7037|url-access=subscription }}</ref> and the moon rabbit is a prominent symbol in the Mid-Autumn Festival.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Cammann |first=Schuyler |date=1953 |title=Ming Festival Symbols |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20066955 |journal=Archives of the Chinese Art Society of America |volume=7 |pages=66–70 |jstor=20066955 |issn=1945-2926}}</ref> In the Chinese New Year, the zodiacal rabbit or hare is one of the twelve celestial animals in the Chinese zodiac.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Gao |first1=Jinlin |last2=Joh |first2=Yoon-kyoung |date=2019-04-30 |title=Chinese Zodiac Culture and the Rhetorical Construction of ''A Shu B'', ''C'' |url=https://s-space.snu.ac.kr/bitstream/10371/153111/1/03%2019-004%20Jinlin%20Gao%20and%20Yoon-kyoung%20Joh.pdf |url-status=live |journal=Lanaguage Research |language=en |publisher=Seoul National University |volume=55 |issue=1 |pages=2 |doi=10.30961/lr.2019.55.1.55 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240106115356/https://s-space.snu.ac.kr/bitstream/10371/153111/1/03%2019-004%20Jinlin%20Gao%20and%20Yoon-kyoung%20Joh.pdf |archive-date=Jan 6, 2024 |doi-access=free}}</ref> At the time of the zodiacal cycles becoming associated with animals in the Han dynasty,<ref name="Ferlus2013">Ferlus, Michel (2013). ''[https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00922842/document The sexagesimal cycle, from China to Southeast Asia]''. 23rd Annual Conference of the Southeast Asian Linguistics Society, May 2013, Bangkok, Thailand.</ref> only hares were native to China, with the currently extant breeds of rabbit in China being of European origin.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last1=Long |first1=J.-R. |last2=Qiu |first2=X.-P. |last3=Zeng |first3=F.-T. |last4=Tang |first4=L.-M. |last5=Zhang |first5=Y.-P. |date=April 2003 |title=Origin of rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) in China: evidence from mitochondrial DNA control region sequence analysis |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12648090 |journal=Animal Genetics |volume=34 |issue=2 |pages=82–87 |doi=10.1046/j.1365-2052.2003.00945.x |issn=0268-9146 |pmid=12648090}}</ref> The Vietnamese zodiac includes a zodiacal cat in place of the rabbit. The most common explanation is that the ancient Vietnamese word for "rabbit" ''(mao)'' sounds like the Chinese word for "cat" (卯, ''mao)''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Year of the Cat OR Year of the Rabbit? |url=http://www.nwasianweekly.com/2011/02/year-of-the-cat-or-year-of-the-rabbit/ |website=nwasianweekly.com |access-date=27 February 2018 |date=2011-02-03}}</ref> In Japanese tradition, rabbits live on the Moon where they make mochi.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ippo |first=Mori |date=January 30, 2021 |title=Object Lesson: Rabbit Pounding the Elixir of Life Under the Moon |url=https://noma.org/object-lesson-rabbit-pounding-the-elixir-of-life-under-the-moon-by-mori-ippo/ |website=New Orleans Museum of Art}}</ref> This comes from interpreting the pattern of dark patches on the moon as a rabbit standing on tiptoes on the left pounding on an usu, a Japanese mortar.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Harley |first=Timothy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j2EyAQAAMAAJ |title=Moon Lore |date=1885 |publisher=S. Sonnenschein |pages=60–68 |language=en |chapter=The Hare in the Moon}}</ref> In Korean mythology, as in Japanese, rabbits live on the moon making rice cakes ("tteok" in Korean).<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-12-19 |title=Here Comes a Rabbit |url=https://www.nfm.go.kr/user/bbs/english/17/469/bbsDataView/23465.do?page=1 |access-date=2024-09-24 |website=National Folk Museum of Korea}}</ref>

Rabbits have also appeared in religious symbolism. Buddhism, Christianity, and Judaism have associations with an ancient circular motif called the ''three rabbits'' (or "three hares"). Its meaning ranges from "peace and tranquility"<ref name="Zhang">{{cite web |last1=Chapman |first1=Chris |last2=Wei |first2=Zhang |last3=Rasmussen |first3=Peter |date=August 2004 |title=The Three Rabbits in China |url=http://www.threerabbits.net/ |access-date=25 April 2012 |work=Adapted from a presentation at the International Conference on Grottoes Research |location=Dunhuang China}}</ref> to the Holy Trinity.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Evans |first=Edward Payson |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-8afAAAAMAAJ |title=Animal Symbolism in Ecclesiastical Architecture |date=1896 |publisher=H. Holt |pages=239 |language=en}}</ref> The tripartite symbol also appears in heraldry.<ref name="Fox">Fox-Davies, A.C. (1978) [https://books.google.com/books?id=y5tI9jSKxRsC&dq=FitzErcald&pg=PA214 ''A Complete Guide to Heraldry''] (New York: Bonanza Books) p. 214. {{ISBN|1-60239-001-0}}; {{ISBN|978-1-60239-001-0}}.</ref> In Jewish folklore, rabbits are associated with cowardice, a usage still current in contemporary Israeli spoken Hebrew. The original Hebrew word (shfanim, שפנים) refers to the hyrax, but early translations to English interpreted the word to mean "rabbit", as no hyraxes were known to northern Europe.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gilad |first=Elon |date=13 June 2013 |title=Word of the Day Shafan: Don't Turn Yourself Into a Hyrax! |url=https://www.haaretz.com/2013-06-13/ty-article/.premium/word-of-the-day-shafan/0000017f-f44f-d47e-a37f-fd7ffb0c0000 |work=Haaretz}}</ref> <gallery widths="180" heights="200" class="center">
File:Syrischer Maler von 1354 001.jpg|''Rabbit fools Elephant by showing the reflection of the moon''. Illustration (from 1354) of the ''Panchatantra''
File:Blason ville fr Corbenay (Haute-Saône).svg|"Three rabbits" motif, Coat of arms of Corbenay, France
File:Taddeo Crivelli (Italian, died about 1479, active about 1451 - 1479) - Saint Jerome in the Desert - Google Art Project.jpg|''Saint Jerome in the Desert'', by Taddeo Crivelli (died about 1479)
</gallery>

=== Modern times ===
[[File:PeterRabbit8.jpg|left|thumb|Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit]]
The rabbit as trickster is a part of American popular culture, as Br'er Rabbit (from African-American folktales<ref>{{cite book |last=M'Baye |first=Babacar |author-link=Babacar M'Baye |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wkmQ2WXnkJsC |title=The Trickster Comes West: Pan-African Influence in Early Black Diasporan Narratives |publisher=Univ. Press of Mississippi |year=2009 |pages=13–18|isbn=978-1-60473-352-5 }}</ref> and, later, Disney animation<ref name="Brasch2000">{{Cite book |last=Brasch |first=Walter M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UNNaAAAAMAAJ |title=Brer Rabbit, Uncle Remus, and the 'Cornfield Journalist': The Tale of Joel Chandler Harris |date=2000 |publisher=Mercer University Press |pages=74, 275|isbn=978-0-86554-696-7 }}</ref>) and Bugs Bunny (the cartoon character from Warner Bros.<ref name="Adamson">{{Cite book |last=Adamson |first=Joe |url=https://archive.org/details/bugsbunnyfiftyye0000adam |title=Bugs Bunny: 50 Years and Only One Grey Hare |publisher=Henry Holt |year=1990 |isbn=0-8050-1855-7 |url-access=registration}}</ref>), for example.

Anthropomorphized rabbits have appeared in film and literature, in ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (the White Rabbit and the March Hare characters), in ''Watership Down'' (including the film and television adaptations), in ''Rabbit Hill'' (by Robert Lawson), and in the ''Peter Rabbit'' stories (by Beatrix Potter). In the 1920s, ''Oswald the Lucky Rabbit'' was a popular cartoon character.<ref name="SusaninMiller2011">{{cite book |last1=Susanin |first1=Timothy S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OgwbBwAAQBAJ |title=Walt Before Mickey: Disney's Early Years, 1919–1928 |last2=Miller |first2=Diane Disney |date=April 7, 2011 |publisher=Univ. Press of Mississippi |isbn=978-1-60473-960-2 |access-date=September 4, 2012}}</ref>

On the Isle of Portland in Dorset, UK, the rabbit is said to be unlucky, and speaking the creature's name can cause upset among older island residents. This is thought to date back to early times in the local quarrying industry, where, to save space, extracted stones that were not fit for sale were set aside in what became tall, unstable walls. The local rabbits' tendency to burrow there would weaken the walls, and their collapse would result in injuries or even death. 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.<ref>{{cite web |title=Wallace and Gromit spook island |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/dorset/4318710.stm |website=BBC News |access-date=25 August 2022 |date=7 October 2005}}</ref>

In other parts of Britain and in North America, "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 is believed to ensure good fortune for the duration of that month.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mayntz |first=Melissa |date=2019-04-26 |title=On the 1st Of The Month Say "Rabbit Rabbit" for Good luck! |url=https://www.farmersalmanac.com/rabbit-rabbit-35150 |access-date=2023-04-27 |website=Farmers' Almanac – Plan Your Day. Grow Your Life. |language=en-US}}</ref>

The "rabbit test" is a term first used in 1949 for the Friedman test, an early diagnostic tool for detecting a pregnancy in humans. It is a common misconception (or perhaps an urban legend) that the test-rabbit would die if the woman was pregnant. This led to the phrase "the rabbit died" becoming a euphemism for a positive pregnancy test.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Friedman |first=Maurice |title=The Assay of Gonadotropic Extracts in the Post-Partum Rabbit11 |date=1 May 1939 |url=https://doi.org/10.1210/endo-24-5-617 |journal=Endocrinology |volume=24 |issue=5 |pages=617–625|doi=10.1210/endo-24-5-617 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Many modern children's stories and cartoons portray rabbits as particularly fond of eating carrots, largely due to the popularity of Bugs Bunny, whose carrot eating habit was modeled after Peter Warne, the character played by Clark Gable in the 1934 romantic comedy ''It Happened One Night''.<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=George|editor1-first=Amber E.|editor2-last=Schatz|editor2-first=J.L.|title=Screening the Nonhuman: Representations of Animal Others in the Media|chapter=Chapter 5: Would Bugs Bunny Have Diabetes? The Realistic Consequences of Cartoons for Non-Human Animals|year=2016|isbn=978-1-4985-1375-3|pages=63–67|publisher=Lexington Books}}</ref> This is a misleading as wild rabbits do not naturally prefer carrots over other plants. Carrots are high in sugar, and excessive consumption can be unhealthy.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bittel |first=Jason |date=2022-02-19 |title=Think you know what bunnies and bears eat? Their diets may surprise you. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/kidspost/think-you-know-what-bunnies-and-bears-eat-their-diets-may-surprise-you/2019/09/20/bac528ea-ce5d-11e9-87fa-8501a456c003_story.html |access-date=2024-03-10 |newspaper=Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> This has led to some owners of domestic rabbits feeding a carrot heavy diet on this false perception.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Rioja-Lang |first1=Fiona |last2=Bacon |first2=Heather |last3=Connor |first3=Melanie |last4=Dwyer |first4=Cathy Mary |date=2019 |title=Rabbit welfare: determining priority welfare issues for pet rabbits using a modified Delphi method |journal=Veterinary Record Open |language=en |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=e000363 |doi= 10.1136/vetreco-2019-000363|issn=2399-2050 |pmc=6924855 |pmid=31903189}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=George |first1=Amber E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IZD2CwAAQBAJ&pg=PA59 |title=Screening the Nonhuman: Representations of Animal Others in the Media |last2=Schatz |first2=J. L. |date=2016-04-27 |publisher=Lexington Books |isbn=978-1-4985-1375-3 |language=en}}</ref>

==See also==
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
* Animal track
* Cuniculture
* Hare games
* Jackalope
* List of animal names
* List of rabbit breeds
* Rabbits in the arts
{{div col end}}

==References==
=== Notes ===
{{Notelist}}

=== Citations ===
{{reflist}}

=== Sources used ===
* {{Cite book |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-540-72446-9 |title=Lagomorph Biology |date=2008 |publisher=Springer Berlin Heidelberg |isbn=978-3-540-72445-2 |editor-last=Alves |editor-first=Paulo C. |location=Berlin, Heidelberg |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-540-72446-9 |editor-last2=Ferrand |editor-first2=Nuno |editor-last3=Hackländer |editor-first3=Klaus}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Angerbjörn |first1=Anders |title=Primates and Lagomorpha |last2=Schai-Braun |first2=Stéphanie Claire |publisher=Springer International Publishing |year=2023 |isbn=978-3-030-34042-1 |editor-last=Hackländer |editor-first=Klaus |series=Handbook of the Mammals of Europe |location=Cham |chapter=Mountain Hare Lepus timidus Linnaeus, 1758 |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-34043-8_12 |editor-last2=Alves |editor-first2=Paulo C. |chapter-url=https://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-030-34043-8_12}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Delibes-Mateos |first1=Miguel |title=Primates and Lagomorpha |last2=Rödel |first2=Heiko G. |last3=Rouco |first3=Carlos |last4=Alves |first4=Paulo C. |last5=Carneiro |first5=Miguel |last6=Villafuerte |first6=Rafael |publisher=Springer International Publishing |year=2023 |isbn=978-3-030-34042-1 |editor-last=Hackländer |editor-first=Klaus |series=Handbook of the Mammals of Europe |location=Cham |chapter=European Rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus (Linnaeus, 1758) |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-34043-8_13 |editor-last2=Alves |editor-first2=Paulo C. |chapter-url=https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-34043-8_13}}
* {{Cite book |last=Nowak |first=Ronald M. |title=Walker's mammals of the world |edition=6th |volume=2 |year=1999 |location=Baltimore |publisher= Johns Hopkins University Press |isbn=978-0-8018-5789-8 |url=https://archive.org/details/walkersmammalsof0002nowa_d2q4 }}
* {{Cite book |last1=Smith |first1=David G. |title=A dissection guide & atlas to the rabbit |last2=Schenk |first2=Michael P. |publisher=Morton |year=2019 |isbn=978-1-61731-937-2 |oclc=1084742187}}
* {{Cite journal|pmc=7158370 |date=2013 |last1=Varga |first1=M. |title=Rabbit Basic Science |journal=Textbook of Rabbit Medicine |pages=3–108 |doi=10.1016/B978-0-7020-4979-8.00001-7 |isbn=978-0-7020-4979-8 }}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
{{Wikiquote}}
{{EB1911 poster|Rabbit}}

{{Lagomorpha|L.}}
{{Meat}}
{{North American Game}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q9394}}
{{Authority control}}

 
Category:Articles containing video clips
Category:Cosmopolitan mammals
Category:Extant Ypresian first appearances
Category:Herbivorous mammals
 
Category:Mammal common names
Category:Paraphyletic groups