Domestic Rabbit

(Oryctolagus cuniculus)

The Zoo is home to one domestic rabbit as part of our Ambassador Animal collection.

Animal Facts

Brown coat, with black and gray sprinkled throughout. Their underside is paler gray. This color helps them camouflage within their environments.

They have a short tail that has a white underside. The white undertail can serve as a beacon to warn other rabbits that a predator is there. Additionally, their tail can be used to confuse predators. The white tail will be a point of focus for the predator so as the rabbit zigzags and takes sharp turns it will be hard for the predator to keep focus on that one spot.

European rabbits are primarily crepuscular, being most active around dawn and dusk. They sleep on average 8 hours a day in short bursts. Additionally, they will sleep with their eyes open to keep an eye out for potential predators, using their nictitating membrane to keep their eyes moist.

Rabbits communicate with each other through physical, vocal, and chemical cues. One important physical cue would be standing up on hind legs, ears straight, and nose rapidly twitching. This signals to other rabbits that they need to be alert and potentially be ready to run because a threat may be nearby

Female rabbits experience postpartum estrus allowing them to reproduce quickly. Females are also capable of rejecting the fetus or reabsorb the embryo if conditions are not ideal for reproduction. Females can produce 7-8 liters per year.

Diet

Herbivore. Grasses, leaves, flowers, bark, roots, grains, vegetables, cecotropes, pellets, timothy hay, greens and veggies.

Status in The Wild

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List status

Domestic rabbit natural habitats include grassland, shrubland, savanna, forest. Their range extends the Iberian Peninsula (including Spain, Portugal, and southwestern France), western France, and the northern Atlas Mountains in Northwest Africa.

Introduced countries: Albania, Algeria, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Chile, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Morocco, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States.

They prefer mixed habitats of Mediterranean oak savanna or scrub-forest, or areas with around 40% cover for shelter from predators and open areas that support their diet of grasses and cereals. They are also often found in areas with high density of managed farmland. Soft soil is preferred for building warrens and in rockier habitats they will often use scrubs as their shelter.