European rabbit

Wild rabbits first lived in Spain, Portugal and France.

People took rabbits to many other places. Now they live in lots of countries. They like grassy fields with soft ground for digging.

The European rabbit's original home is the Iberian Peninsula, where Spain and Portugal are, plus parts of France. It likes dry, open places near shrubs, with soft, sandy soil that is easy to dig.

Over many centuries people carried rabbits to new places for meat, fur and sport. Today wild rabbits live across much of Europe and in Australia, New Zealand, Chile, southern Africa and elsewhere. In parts of Europe they even live in city parks, cemeteries and gardens.

The IUCN's global assessment lists the species as native only to Portugal, Spain and France. Animal Diversity Web notes that the last ice age confined it to the Iberian Peninsula and small areas of France and northwest Africa, but the IUCN treats the rabbits living in Morocco and Algeria today as introduced. It prefers dry, low-lying areas with soft soil for burrowing and shrubby cover, though it ranges from sea level to about 3,000 meters.

Introductions by people mean that wild European rabbits now live on every continent except Asia and Antarctica. The IUCN lists introduced populations in about thirty countries, including the United Kingdom, Ireland, much of central and northern Europe, Morocco, Algeria, South Africa, Namibia, Chile, the United States, Australia and New Zealand.

Rabbits have long ears to hear danger.

Their eyes are on the sides of the head. That helps them see all around. Strong back legs help them hop and run fast.

A rabbit's long ears turn to catch the smallest sounds, warning it of foxes, cats or hawks. Its big eyes sit on the sides of its head, so it can watch almost all around while it eats.

Long, powerful back legs make rabbits quick, zigzagging runners. Compared with hares, their close relatives, European rabbits have shorter ears and less powerful legs. When chased, a rabbit does not try to outrun the predator: it dodges and zigzags to confuse it and dashes for cover. When danger is near, a rabbit thumps its back feet on the ground to warn others.

Lagomorph features include long ears (Britannica gives up to about 6 centimeters for rabbits generally), large laterally placed eyes for wide vision, and long hind limbs with a strengthened pelvic girdle for fast, agile running.

Compared with hares, European rabbits have smaller ears and shorter, less powerful legs. Britannica describes the escape of a chased rabbit as quick, irregular movement meant to evade and confuse a pursuer rather than outdistance it. Rabbits communicate through scent and touch and drum their hind feet on the ground as an alarm.

Baby rabbits are called kittens.

They are born in a cozy nest with no fur, and their eyes are closed. Mom feeds them rich milk. Soon they hop out to explore.

A mother rabbit is pregnant for about a month and usually has a litter of five or six babies, called kittens. They are born in a nest in a burrow, with no fur and with their eyes shut.

The mother visits only for a few minutes each day, but her milk is very rich, and the kittens grow fast. They stop drinking milk at about four weeks and can have babies of their own at around eight months. Very few wild rabbits live past their first year, but a lucky one can reach about seven.

Gestation is about 29 to 30 days, and litters average five to six young but range from one to fourteen. Females come into breeding condition again right after giving birth and ovulate in response to mating, so several litters a year are possible; New Zealand's Department of Conservation notes that does can be pregnant for about 70 percent of a year.

Newborns, called kittens, are naked, blind and helpless. The mother nurses for only a few minutes a day with very rich milk; young are weaned at about four weeks and mature at about eight months. In wild populations, more than 90 percent often die in their first year.