Wild rabbits are
territorial animals who live within a loosely organized society in a
series of underground tunnels which make up the warren. They are most
active at dawn and dusk. They prefer loose, free draining soil with
cover such as pastures with hedgerows, and are rarely found in damp
areas or above the tree line.
As prey animals they are wary of potential predators such as foxes and
birds of prey. They have almost 360 degree vision apart from a blind
spot in front of their nose, large rotating ears and a good sense of
smell. Sentry rabbits will 'stand on guard', sitting on their haunches
in an upright position, which allows them to see further a field. If a
threat is suspected the rabbit will thump loudly with its hind legs as a
warning to the others who will run for cover in the safety of their
burrows.
Rabbits spend a great deal of their time either feeding in the open or
re-ingesting their caecal pellets in the safety of the burrow. Rabbit
mothers only feed their babies twice a day and rabbit milk is very rich.
The young are born blind and naked into a nest lined with the doe's
belly fur.
Rabbits scent mark their territory with droppings which are given an
individual scent from the rabbit's anal glands, and using the gland
under their chin to demonstrate ownership of property such as entrance
to a burrow. Male rabbits spray urine on other males and females during
the mating season. Both sexes spray urine as a defensive gesture when
threatened.
Mounting other rabbits, cushions, soft toys or owners leg, may be a sign
of sexual frustration or dominance. The female rabbit hierarchy is
distinct from the male hierarchy. They operate as two separate lines.
Fighting is rare in established colonies once this order is established
and normally only occurs over receptive females or lack of available
burrows.
A lot of reported 'nuisance' behaviour in rabbits is perfectly natural
in the wild. Neutering/spaying reduces both sexual and territorial
behaviour as well as eliminating the risk of unwanted litters. What
remains in all rabbits is a great sensitivity to predators. Large humans
looming above them and pick them up are naturally frightening. A rabbit
likes to have its feet firmly on the ground where it has control over
its fight or flight response. Contrary to their fluffy appearance,
rabbits are none too fond of being picked up and you should lie on the
ground to bond with your rabbit at his own pace to develop trust.
Although the pet rabbit's first response is to flatten itself to the
ground and hide or run back to the shelter of the burrow, in defence of
their burrow or nest they will sometimes fight tooth and nail. In
addition, their thumping and flight response with such powerful hind
legs means that in their panic they can inflict substantial injuries or
even kill a guinea pig or smaller rabbit.
In the wild rabbits graze close to the warren and deposit droppings as
they eat which help to fertilize the soil for further plant growth. This
behaviour can help with litter training a house rabbit by placing a hay
rack next to the litter tray so he can eat and poo at the same time.
Rabbits are very communicative and social and you can learn a lot about
your rabbit from watching his body language. Visit the fascinating site
The Language of Lagomorphs to see photos and find out many interesting
things about bunny body language.
Below are some observations about
bunny behavior that are helpful to know:
- Both ears up with inside of ear
facing forward - friendly, happy bunny
- Inside of ears turned outward -
getting annoyed
- One ear up and one ear down - more
annoyed, could go either way
- Ears up with inside turned to back
- annoyed, getting angry
- Lays ears back from position
described above, crouched body - prepare to be bitten
- Looks at you and waggles ears -
happy, wants to interact
- Turns back on you - you have been
dismissed
- Thumps and turns back on you - you
have caused great offense
- Moves away from you flicking its
back feet - you have causes annoyance
- Flopped with both back legs out
side together - relaxed
- Flat as possible on tummy with
ears laid down in relaxed way - wants to be petted
- Pushes head under your hand or
under your chin if you are cuddling - wants to be petted
- Pokes you with nose - marking or
accepting you
- Licks you - grooming behavior; a
great favor for a rabbit to bestow; you can reciprocate by petting
him
- Purring sound when you are petting
- this is tooth purr; happy content rabbit
- Jumping and twisting in the air
(called a binky) - happy rabbit
- Racing wildly around the room - in
the absence of any fear stimulus this is a happy bunny (if he is
happy he will stop and groom or flop; if frightened will try to hide
or stop and freeze)
- Stands up on hind legs (called
telescoping) - checking things out
Frozen with heart racing - terrified
- Yawning - indicates anxiety
- Consumption of moist fecal pellets
- normal behavior essential for nutrition
- Pulling out fur and making a nest
- normal behavior for unspayed female bunny
- Digging in litter box - may just
like to dig; may indicate dirty litter box
- Chewing on bars of cage - bored;
give him toys, more attention, more freedom, chewable items,
adequate hay
Rabbits have a language all their own.
here are some tips on interpreting your bunnies hops, kicks and grunts.
- Sniffing — May be annoyed or
just talking to you
- Grunts — Usually angry, watch out
or you could get bit!
- Shrill scream — Hurt or dying
- Circling your feet — Usually
indicates sexual behavior. He/She's in love.
- Spraying — Males that are not
neutered will mark female rabbits in this manner as well as their
territory. Females will also spray.
- Chinning — Their chin contains
scent glands, so they rub their chin on items to indicate that they
belong to them. Same as a cat rubbing its forehead on people and
objects.
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- False pregnancy — Usually just
unsprayed females may build a nest & pull hair from their chest &
stomach to line the nest. They may even stop eating as rabbits do
the day before they give birth.
- Bunny hop/dance — A sign of pure
joy & happiness!
- Begging — Rabbits are worse than
dogs about begging, especially for sweets. Beware of giving the
rabbit treats as overweight rabbits are not as healthy as trim
rabbits.
- Territory droppings — Droppings
that are not in a pile, but are scattered, are signs that this
territory belongs to the rabbit. This will often occur upon entering
a new environment. If another rabbit lives in the same house this
may always be a nuisance.
- Playing — Rabbits like to push or
toss objects around. They may also race madly around the house, jump
on and off of the couch and act like a kid that's had too much
sugar.
- Don't touch my stuff — Rabbits
often are displeased when you rearrange their cage as you clean.
They are creatures of habit and when they get things just right,
they like them to remain that way.
- Stomping — He's frightened, mad or
trying to tell you that there's danger (in his opinion).
- Teeth Grinding — Indicates
contentment, like a cats purr. Loud grinding can indicate pain.
A rabbit's best developed sensory organ
is its nose. Wild rabbits recognize each other outdoors by their smell.
Rabbits recognize their human partners by the scent of their hands.
Scented Calling Cards:
Rabbits have two scent glands that they use to mark objects. One, under
the tongue, releases its scent (pheromones)-not detectable to
humans-through several pores located beneath the chin. The other gland
is near the anus. Rabbits also spray urine to mark objects and areas.
1) Rubbing objects with the chin: This is the rabbit's way of
designating its territory and announcing to all other members of its
species "I live here. This belongs to me!" Wild rabbits mark rocks,
twigs, landmarks, and burrow entries and exits. Rabbits kept as
household pets will mark table and chair legs and their cage, food dish,
and sleeping house. A rabbit feels safe and at home in surroundings it
has marked. Territories that are unmarked or marked by other rabbits,
however, make the animal extremely unsure. Dominant bucks and does do
the most marking.
2) Marking with the anus: With their anal gland, rabbits can
voluntarily add a secretion to their droppings and thus leave chemical
nameplates and calling cards. Scientists have found that rabbits, within
their colony, not only recognize each other by their common familiar
scent, but also "read" droppings to find out where a rabbit comes from,
whether it is male or female, and how old it is. However, wild rabbits
can recognize only a limited number of their kind in this way.
3) Urine Spraying: Bucks spray with urine to express ownership
and to mark territory. Both males and females also spray urine when
frightened or as a defensive gesture.
How Rabbits Protect Themselves ?
Hares and rabbits are believed to be fearful animals. "As timid as a
rabbit," we say. But this does not quite conform to reality, though
these animals are shy in the wild--they run or hide from enemies--simple
necessity compels them to do so. Otherwise, they would eaten by weasels,
martens, buzzards, hawks, foxes, dogs, or ferrets. All these animals
hunt and attack rabbits which are unable to fend them off because they
have no natural defenses. Their only option is to take flight or crouch
and play dead. To put it briefly rabbits safeguard their existence
fleeing their natural enemies and showing fear.
This behavior is also seen in pet rabbits. If a car drives by or an
airplane is heard the rabbit will flatten itself against the floor, with
its ears laid back, its eyes wide open, and its body quivering. A wild
rabbit, relying on the color of coat as camouflage, will crouch
motionless in the grass until a dangerous bird of prey has flown past. A
pet rabbit exhibits similar behavior. It doer not "know" that its coat,
which maybe white, is visible from a great distance, like a flare
signal.
Sometimes a sudden noise that is extremely loud will cause a rabbit to
take flight in panic. In the close confines of an apartment, such
behavior may be dangerous. Otherwise peaceable. even-tempered rabbits
may react in this way, particularly if the surroundings are unfamiliar
to them. When your pet is allowed to roam free in a meadow, keep its
carrier close at hand. so that the rabbit can seek refuge in it. Then
the animal will have a chance to explore the new environment bit by bit
and, if need be, come back to its sheltering "burrow".
If a rabbit is confronted and has no where to run, or if a rabbit is
defending territory, it may fight vigorously. When rabbits fight they
assume an aggressive posture: ears laid back, hair on end, and they will
sometimes grunt or thump as a warning. After the initial warning a
rabbit will bite, lick and punch the opponent. Intact rabbits will
defend themselves more vigorously than fixed rabbits. A fixed rabbit may
not defend himself in an outdoors situation (from cats or dogs) so it is
advisable to keep you rabbit in a safe outdoor run to provide exercise.
The Language of Sounds
The sounds of wild rabbits, like those of domesticated rabbits, are
almost always very soft and tentative. Often you will have to listen
very carefully or you won't hear them at all.
Violent gnashing of teeth, in combination with a dull, listless gaze and
general apathy: Always a sign of great pain, caused, for example, by
tympani is.
Not to be confused with:
Faint grinding noise produced by jaw movement: An expression of
contentment, this sound is produced primarily when the back of the
rabbit's neck is scratched. It is more pronounced in some rabbits than
in others.
Spitting: Always a sign of aggression. A brief spitting sound may
precede an attack. It has little similarity to the spitting noises made
by cats, however.
Brief growling: This sound usually is produced by bucks shortly after
mating.
Cooing: Dwarf does often coo when nursing their young, and rabbits may
produce this sound when communicating with each other, if they feel
safe, sound, and secure. The range of sounds is quite broad, and the
noises are similar to the cooing of doves, although the rabbits' cooing
is less even and deeper in pitch.
Reference: Dwarf Rabbits
"A Complete Pet Owner's Manual".
Monika Wegler
Other Bunny Behaviors
Mounting or "Humping"
Rabbits mount for two reasons: either to mate, or to express dominance.
If an unfixed male mounts an unsprayed female, you can be certain that
they are mating. Even males that are fixed will often mount unsprayed
females. Usually if a female is spayed and the male is neutered, the
mounting will stop as the male loses interest in the female sexually.
But why do females mount males? Or why do two rabbits of the same sex
mount? They are expressing dominance, and usually after the alpha bunny
has made it clear that he/she is in charge, the mounting stops.
An intact male rabbit may hump his owner's leg, arm, or anything within
reach. A humping toy may be provided to alleviate some of these sexual
frustrations. A recommended "humping toy" is a fleece stuffed dog toy.
These are machine washable and are available in the dog toy area of most
pet stores. |