2023: The Year of The Rabbit

In the Chinese Zodiac (ancient source of folklore) this year is the Year of the Rabbit. People born in a Year of the Rabbit are called "Rabbits" and are believed to be vigilant, witty, quickminded, and ingenious (chinahighlights.com, Getty Images).

Rabbits were originally only found in Africa, Europe and especially in Spain, where there was an overabundance; in fact Spain gets its name from the Latin word “hispania” which means “land of the of rabbits.” Rabbits were domesticated for food and fur until about 400 years ago, when they also started to be kept as pets.

Rabbits often live underground in clusters of burrows called warrens, which are dug by the doe (females) for sleeping and protection from predators such as foxes, birds of prey, coyotes, and raccoons. Rabbits have a keen sense of smell, twitching their noses up to 150 times per minute, smelling predators they can’t yet see or hear. Their long flexible ears are an adaptation that provide excellent hearing, detecting the slightest sound, and rotating up to 270 degrees (WWF).

Rabbits are excellent at seeing in the dark and long distances; sometimes they even sleep with their eyes open! Their hind legs are longer than their front legs, allowing them to hop up to 15 feet in the air as well as communicate by thumping when in danger. They may scream when threatened or in pain and also purr like a cat when happy or content (Thameswood Vets).

Rabbits have sharp front teeth plus peg teeth, which help to supply their herbivorous diet of grasses, weeds, and tender tree bark.

Hares and rabbits are not the same: hares are large with longer legs and ears, and their kits are born with lots of fur and eyes wide open. When rabbit kits are born they have no hair and their eyes and ears are sealed shut. To confuse you more Jackrabbits are hares and the Belgium-Hare is a rabbit (The Almanac).