Rabbit Facts
Rabbit Facts You Can't Be Without
There are many interesting rabbit facts. Maybe it's because there are so many rabbits. They’re all around us, in the wild, domesticated and bred for meat and pelts, and found in some households as pets.
Here are several rabbit facts to introduce you to this interesting animal. A male rabbit is called a buck; the female is a doe, while the little ones are known as kits, and a group of newborn little ones, a litter. Though rabbits are not often seen together in large groups, when they are, what you see is called a herd.
We often hear the term "they breed like rabbits", sometimes applied to a group of animals, or even a group of people, which seem to rapidly be becoming more and more numerous. Rabbits of course do "breed like rabbits". A female rabbit can start breeding at an age of around 4 months, has a gestation period of one month, and can have three and sometimes four litters a year. A litter of a dozen or so kits is not unusual.
While domesticated rabbits have a lifespan of up to ten years, the lifespan of a wild rabbit tends to be only a year or two, largely due to predators and adverse weather conditions. Nearly half the wild rabbit population dies out every year, a good thing, considering the rate at which they breed.
Rabbits are hunted for both their meat and their fur, though most commercial rabbit fur comes from domestic rabbits. Wild rabbits are also hunted for the simple reason that they can become pests, destroying valuable vegetation, whether on the farm or in the home garden. In some places wild rabbit populations have exploded when natural predators have become scarce, and created havoc among farmers and gardeners.
Rabbits generally make excellent pets. There were actually pet rabbits in the White House at one time (President Lincoln). Male rabbits seem to be the most affectionate. Female rabbits can be as well, but sometimes have a tendency to be moody, and at times territorial, especially when the urge to breed comes into play. Rabbits share some common traits with cats. They can purr, apparently the males are the best at that, they can have hairballs, and they constantly groom themselves. There are numerous varieties of domestic rabbits available as pets. A dealer, or one breeding rabbits as a hobby, may be able to suggest which breed might be best for you.
On the wild side, the Eastern Cottontail is the most widely distributed of the dozen breeds found in the United States. Snowshoe rabbits are also fairly widespread, living mostly in higher elevations, while Jackrabbits are found mostly in the southwest. The Jackrabbit is actually a hare. Hares and rabbits are different species though the names are often used interchangeably.
Finally, here are some rabbit facts having to do with nutrition. Rabbit meat is favored by many and is lower in cholesterol than beef, pork, and even chicken. And if you like white meat, you should try rabbit. All white meat.