rabbit

(also affectionately called ‘bunny’, plural – ‘bunnies’)

a kind of animal – mammal – four-legged – grass-eating – related to the hares –

plump body with long soft fur (hair), usually brown, grey or white, cone-shaped head with 4-6 inch-long straight ears, clear round eyes, long sharp front teeth, long, powerful hind (back) legs, short front legs with claws on toes, short tail, just a puff of fur, called ‘scut’; size: the smallest – the pygmy rabbit – 8 inches in length and 400 grams in weight, the largest — 1½ feet in length and 2 Kg. in weight; feeds on grass, leaves of select plants and vegetables; lives for 6-9 years; several species (kinds) found all over the world

male ~~ buck

female ~~ doe

baby ~~ kit, kitten; kindle; bunny;  {‘leveret’ (?)}

group ~~ colony, bevy, bury, leash, warren, drove, nest; fluffle (in Canada)

voice (call) ~~ scream; squeal

home ~~ burrow, hole, warren; (simple nest on land under bushes) form (man-made) hutch; pen; cage

movement ~~ hop

[The ‘Belgian hare’ is not a hare but a rabbit bred to look like a hare!]

[The meat of a rabbit eaten by people and the fur of the rabbit worn by people are also called ‘rabbit’.]

Special Features:

The rabbit is a popular pet.  Rabbits are petted in two ways: ‘house rabbits’, rabbits that are kept indoors in pens or cages; and ‘domestic rabbits’, rabbits that are kept outdoors in pens or hutches.

Rabbits are a good source of food – high in protein and low in cholesterol!

Rabbits have been hunted for food, sport, and for their pelts (‘pelt’ = skin with the fur on it) for thousands of years.  Rabbit pelts are used in garment making, especially lining hats, purses and other accessories.

The rabbit’s milk, which is said to be highly nutritious and the richest of that of all the mammal (except, of course, that of the ‘reindeer’), is used in traditional medicine!

The infamous feature of the rabbit is that it eats its own droppings (shit) to digest its food!

In many cultures, the rabbit is considered quiet, reserved, thoughtful and lucky!!

Rabbits are the symbol of fertility or rebirth, of spring season, and Easter (Christian festival); of innocence; and of innocent playful sexuality!

The rabbit has a special place in the folk stories, fables and is featured in several cartoons and motion pictures: as a ‘trickster’ outwitting its enemies using cunning; a wise animal that outwits the ferocious lion that kills all the other animals. (And in several TV and radio programmes, and in films – the list can go on and on)!

A ‘playboy bunny’ is a waitress in a special bunny costume at a playboy club. Several of the playboy bunnies have become very famous celebrities in music and movie world!!

In Afro-American culture, wearing a rabbit’s foot, usually the back left foot, as an amulet, usually hung on a key-chain, brings good luck, and protects the wearer from evil!

{Rabbit or Hare? >>>}

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