RABBIT

any of several species of small gnawing mammals of the family Leporidae (rabbits and hares), order Lagomorpha. Rabbits are native to Europe, the New World, Asia, and Africa. They are placed in several genera, the best known being Oryctolagus, consisting solely of the European, or Old World, rabbit (O. cuniculus), and Sylvilagus, consisting of about 13 species of cottontail rabbits. The common names rabbit and hare are used interchangeably in the United States and are sometimes misleading; the popular breed known as the Belgian hare, for instance, is actually a variant of the European rabbit. As a group, rabbits and hares do not differ greatly in structure. The primary difference is that rabbits are naked, blind, and helpless at birth; newborn hares are well-haired and sufficiently advanced so that they can hop about shortly after birth. Rabbits may be gregarious, as is the European rabbit, but hares are generally solitary. Rabbits are also usually smaller than hares, although some, especially those of the many domestic breeds, may weigh as much as 7.25 kg (16 pounds). Small to medium-sized European and cottontail rabbits are about 2545 cm (1018 inches) long and weigh about 0.52 kg (14 pounds). Domesticated cottontails and European rabbits may live up to 810 and 13 years, respectively. Rabbits are long-eared and short-tailed, with long hind legs and, usually, gray or brown fur. The European rabbit is the best-known species and is the ancestor of all domestic breeds. It was originally found in southwestern Europe and North Africa but has been introduced into Australia, New Zealand, and the Americas. It is an exceedingly prolific animal whose main breeding season runs from February to October, though breeding can occur at practically any time throughout the year. The females, or does, begin breeding at about eight months of age, and when about to give birth they dig a new, short burrow in the ground and construct a nest in it from leaves and their own fur. Gestation takes about 30 days, and the female is able to breed again very shortly after producing a litter. Females bear several litters of five to eight young each year. The European rabbit is a social animal and lives in warrens consisting of the burrows of many individual rabbits. It inhabits brushy fence rows and thickets from which it ventures into the fields to feed at night, eating grasses and other plant foods. It possesses a placid and timid temperament. The cottontail rabbits (Sylvilagus) of North America are named for the white on the underside of their tails. They are common wild rabbits and are popular game and food animals. They live in burrows and are usually found in open country, frequently near settled areas. Of the roughly 13 species, the best known is the Florida, or eastern, cottontail (S. floridanus), which ranges over the entire United States east of the Rockies and occupies a wide variety of habitats. Rabbits are of considerable economic importance. They form the bulk of the diet of many animal predators, and they are the most widely hunted small game (by humans) wherever they occur. They can also carry and transmit to humans such diseases as tularemia, or rabbit fever, however, and in some areas they become serious pests, destroying crops or grazing lands. Australia is a notable example; rabbits were successfully established there in the late 19th century, but the animals bred prodigiously and, escaping into the wild, soon overran the continent. In the 1950s their increase was slowed, although perhaps not permanently affected, by introduction of the rabbit disease myxomatosis into Australia. Rabbit fur, sometimes called lapin, is used in the fur industry and is also a primary source of fibre for the manufacture of felt. (See rabbit hair.) Rabbit flesh, which is delicately flavoured, is often eaten by humans. Because they are easily raised in captivity, rabbits are important as laboratory animals for medical and scientific purposes. Many varieties of the European rabbit have arisen as a result of domestic breeding, and about 30 breeds and almost 80 varieties of domestic rabbits are recognized in the United States. Among the better-known breeds are the Angora rabbit, a long-haired rabbit kept mainly for its fur and meat; the New Zealand rabbit, also kept for its meat and fur; and such types as the Flemish giant, silver gray, chinchilla, Havana, and the American blue. See also lagomorph.