Sure, we all know that rabbits are really cute and fuzzy. But how much do you really know about these long-eared, fluffy-tailed animals? Here are ten cool facts about rabbits:
1. Rabbits can see behind themselves without turning their heads.
Because rabbits’ eyes are located on the sides of their heads, they have a nearly 360° field of vision. But they don’t see well directly in front of their faces or directly behind their heads.
Luckily, they can also use their whiskers and great sense of smell to detect objects in their blindspots.
Is Otis looking at the box or back at me? Or both?
2. Rabbits’ teeth never stop growing.
In order to keep up with the constant wear and tear of eating grass or hay, rabbits’ teeth keep growing and growing.
That’s why it’s important that pet rabbits have access to hay all the time. Otherwise, they get dental problems, like sharp spikes on their teeth.
Otis loves wearing down his ever-growing teeth by eating hay.
3. Rabbits eat their own poop.
Yup, this fact’s a little gross. After rabbits eat, they poop out a soft kind of poop called a cecotroph. They then eat the cecotrophs directly from their butts.
When the cecotrophs pass through their digestive system again, they come out in the form of hard, round pellets. These are the poops you see on the ground or in the litter box (and rabbits do not eat these).
So even though it seems kind of yucky, by eating their own poop, rabbits are able to absorb more nutrients from their very fibrous diet.
Rabbits eat a special soft poop directly from their butts.
4. Rabbits are not rodents.
You may think that rabbits are rodents, like squirrels and chipmunks. But rabbits are actually in the order, Lagomorpha, along with hares and pikas.
Rabbits are different from rodents because they have four top front teeth instead of two. Rabbits have two main incisors on top, and then two smaller incisors behind those, called peg teeth.
5. Wild rabbits live on every continent except Antarctica.
There are 29 species of rabbits worldwide, living in a range of habitats. In fact, some species live in swamplands, and some even live on volcanoes!
Here’s a picture of a volcano rabbit, which lives on the slopes of volcanoes in Mexico:
True to its name, this volcano rabbit lives on a volcano! (c) Luis Correa, some rights reserved (CC BY), CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
6. Some wild rabbits are excellent swimmers.
It’s not a good idea to put your pet rabbit in water, as this can be very traumatic for them and may even cause them to have a heart attack.
But some wild rabbits, such as the marsh rabbit or the swamp rabbit, are specially adapted to their wetland environment and take to the water often.
Watch a video below of a swamp rabbit swimming:
7. All pet rabbits descended from just one species of wild rabbit.
There are now hundreds of different breeds of pet rabbits in various sizes and colors. Some have long fluffy fur, and some have short velvety fur. Some rabbits have ears that stick up straight, and some have ears that flop down.
It’s hard to believe, but all of these domesticated rabbit breeds descended from just one species of wild rabbit: the European rabbit.
Though they look very different from one another, these three breeds of pet rabbits (bottom row) all descended from wild European rabbits like the one pictured above. Bottom row: Angora, English Lop, Lionhead.
8. Rabbits can be trained to jump over hurdles.
Some bunny owners train their rabbits to hop over obstacles in rabbit hopping competitions. They start with low obstacles and use treats and positive reinforcement to reward the rabbit when it jumps over. Then they slowly increase the height of the hurdles.
Watch a bunny hopping competition here:
9. The oldest rabbit on record was 18 years old.
Most pet rabbits live about 9-12 years. But Flopsy, a wild rabbit who was raised as a pet in Australia, lived to a whopping 18 years old!
10. The largest rabbit on record is over 4 feet long and weighs almost 50 pounds!
The longest rabbit in the world is a Continental Giant bunny named Darius. Continental Giants and Flemish Giants are the largest breeds of bunnies.
So there you have it! Rabbits are not only very cute, they’re also super cool!
About the Author
Abi Cushman is a veteran house rabbit owner and a contributing editor of My House Rabbit. She currently shares her home with one mischievous dwarf bunny named Otis.
When she's not writing about bunnies for My House Rabbit, Abi writes and illustrates funny books for kids, including Soaked! (Viking) and Animals Go Vroom! (Viking). And yes, there are bunnies in them. Learn more at abicushman.com.
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