Rabbit usually refers to the European rabbit,Oryctolagus cuniculus, and it is this species that is domesticated for food or as a pet. A number of other species within the family Leporidae are also called rabbits, but usually with an additional distinguishing name, e.g. cottontail rabbits, jackrabbits.

Appearance
The ordinary rabbit is a small mammal, and comes in a wide variety of colors and sizes. They can range in weight from approximately six to 28 pounds, and from 12 inches to several feet in length. Although wild rabbits tend to be agouti in color, rabbits have as much color variation among themselves as other household pets. Their fur is prized for its softness, and even today Angora rabbits are raised for their long soft fur, which is often spun into yarn. Other breeds are raised for the fur industry, particularly the Rex, which has a smooth velvet like coat.

Rabbits have 4 sharp incisors (2 on top, 2 on bottom) and two peg teeth on the top behind the inscisors, dissimilar to those of rodents (which have only 2 each, top and bottom). Rabbits have long ears, large hind legs, and short fluffy tails. Rabbits move by hopping, using their long and powerful hind legs. To facilitate quick movement, rabbit hind feet have a thick padding of fur to dampen the shock of rapid hopping. Their toes are long, and are webbed to keep themselves from spreading apart as they jump.

Rabbits have teeth that grow continuously throughout their lives. In the middle-size breeds, the teeth grow approximately five inches per year for the upper incisors and about eight inches per year for the lower incisors. The teeth abrade away against one another, giving the teeth a constantly sharp edge.

Reproduction
Rabbits are famed for their reproductive capabilities. Although certainly not the strongest, fastest, or smartest of the mammals, they have carved out a strong ecological niche through their impressive ability to multiply quickly. This prolificness lead to the oft-used vulgarity, "fuck like bunnies" and the more proper, "multiply like rabbits".

Rabbits have a very high success rate for impregnation, due to the fact that female rabbits ovulate at the time of copulation. The gestation cycle for a rabbit averages 31 days, although it can vary anywhere between 29 and 35 days. Litter sizes generally range between two and 12 rabbits.

Rabbits have many names they are known by. In the US (particularly), they are commonly referred to as bunny. Young rabbits are known by the names bunny, kit, or kitten. "Rabbit" itself used to be the word applied to the young, with the adult being called a cony or coney (pronounced cunny). This term fell out of usage owing to the taboo value of a homonym, and "rabbit" became common usage for both the young and the adult, with "bunny" entering into use later. A male rabbit is called a buck, and a female rabbit is called a doe. A group of rabbits is known as a herd.

Unless being bred for food, it is highly recommended that you get your rabbit either spayed or neutered. Female rabbits in particular face about an 80% change of contracting some form of reproductive cancer (ovarian, uterine or mammarian) at approximately two years of age. Spaying your female rabbit will nearly eliminate this risk. Furthermore, spaying and neutering will make your rabbit less prone to destructive behavior (such as spraying, chewing, and digging.) In addition to being less destructive, they will be calmer and will generally make better companions. As a bonus, altering your rabbit will help reduce the severe problem of domestic rabbit overpopulation.

Species
Notable species include the European rabbit, Oryctolagus cuniculus, which has been domesticated and through selective breeding has produced a wide range of breeds of pet rabbits. The wild form is well-known for digging networks of burrows called warrens. The American genus Sylvilagus comprises thirteen cottontail species.

Taxonomy
Unlike hares, they are born blind and furless, in a furlined nest, and totally dependent upon their mother. They were classified as Rodentia until 1912, when they were moved to the Lagomorpha order.

Rabbits share the family Leporidae, together with the related hares. Their order, Lagomorpha, in addition to containing hares, also contains pikas.

Rabbits and people
Rabbits are popular pets which are either confined to a cage, or allowed to roam free in their guardian's residence. They are an example of an animal which is both petted and eaten by the same culture. Snares or shotguns are usually employed when catching rabbits for food. Dogs are often employed in rabbit hunting. Rabbits are often raised for meat called cuniculture. Rabbit pelts are a widely used fur for clothing.

Because of their appetites, and the rate at which they breed, wild rabbit depredation can prove problematic for agriculture. Gassing, barriers (fences), shooting, snaring and ferreting have been used to control rabbit populations, as has the disease myxomatosis.

Rabbits in culture and literature
Rabbits are often used as a symbol of fertility. It is possibly as a consequence of this that they have been associated with Easter. The species' roles as a prey animal also lends itself as a symbol of innocence as an animal that seems to wish harm on no one. It is also common folklore archetype of the trickster who uses his cunning to outwit his enemies. The most common example of this is Brer Rabbit and by extension, the cartoon character Bugs Bunny also typifies this image.

There is a rabbit among the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac. See: Rabbit (Zodiac).

Rabbits have appeared in a host of works of film and literature, notably the White Rabbit in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland; in the popular novel Watership Down; and as Rabbit feet are considered lucky, and fake rabbit feet are often sold as cheap trinkets.

---

"This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license"