10 facts about rabbits

Facts

We would like to tell you 10 facts about rabbits that we think are fun and that could possibly be used in your daily life with the rabbit. Good to know before you read the facts: rabbit and hares belong to the family called leporids.

Fact 1

Rabbits and hares are different from rodents in that way that they have four more upper teeth instead of just two and they have fur on their feet.

Fact 2

Rabbits and hares can breathe only through their noses. 

Fact 3

Like rodents the front teeth of leporids keep on growing throughout their lifetime so they have to keep these sharp and short by gnawing on food or objects such as wood. 

Fact 4

Rabbits and hares may seem like they only have four toes in their front paws but they actually have five. The fifth one called the dewclaw does not touch the ground like dogs. 

Fact 5

The most distinguishing features of leporids are their long ears which normally grow over 4 inches (10 centimeters) long. These allow them to hear very well and to detect the slightest sound from up to 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) away. 

Fact 6

Leporids also have an excellent sense of smell and they're even able to smell food that is buried under the ground. They have about 100 million scent cells making their sense of smell far more developed than a human’s. Therefore they are able to smell 8 times better than humans. 

Fact 7

Leporids have good vision as well. They can see nearly 360 degrees all around them with the only blind spot being that on the bridge of their noses. 

Fact 8

Leporids are very sensitive to bright light and often squint or run away when it's too bright.

Fact 9

Rabbits and hares have about 17,000 taste buds. Like humans they can tell between sweet, sour, bitter and salty foods. In the wild they can also tell which plants are poisonous. 

Fact 10

Rabbits are social and live in groups called colonies. Sometimes these groups are headed by a dominant male. Hares are solitary coming together only during mating. 

Sandy

Molly