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Jennifer Russell of Silver Run, Maryland is the owner of the world’s oldest living rabbit. At 15-16 years old, Heather was confirmed by the Guinness World Records earlier this month. Russell adopted Heather in 1995 with papers saying the rabbit was two years old at the time. According to Russell, Heather was quite the diva in her prime growling at cats that came too close, and while still spunky, the elderly rabbit now spends her time relaxing on the comforter and eating hay.
Amy, a Continental Giant rabbit, who measured 4 feet and weighed in at 42 pounds, died the night before a scheduled appearance on an Italian TV program. Thought to have died of a heart attack, the enormous rabbit had packed on pounds with a diet high on starches and sugars: two apples, a handful of carrots, half a cabbage, fresh hay and a dog-sized bowl of rabbit mix every day.
Although Annette Edwards, Amy’s owner, insists that Amy was not overweight and was fed a proper diet, I think Amy would have benefited from a more fibrous diet with limited starches. Hopefully, Ms. Edwards will learn from this experience and give a proper diet to Amy’s offspring, of which there are 32. But the outlook is grim, as Ms. Edwards speculates that Amy’s daughter Alice will set a new record for largest rabbit. According to Edwards, “We think Alice is two inches longer.”
For more info:
The Telegraph
The Sun
Natural Environment Blog
