Editing Rabbit (section)

==Ecology==
[[File:Rabbit 1hr old gnangarra.jpg|thumb|Rabbit kits one hour after birth]]
Rabbits are [[predator|prey]] animals. In Mediterranean Europe, for example, rabbits are the main prey of red foxes, badgers, and Iberian lynxes.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Fedriani, J. M. |author2=Palomares, F. |author3=Delibes, M. |year=1999 |title=Niche relations among three sympatric Mediterranean carnivores |jstor=4222449 |journal=Oecologia |volume=121 |issue=1 |pages=138–148 |url=http://www.uam.es/personal_pdi/ciencias/jonate/Ecologia/Tema%2023/Fedriani.pdf |doi=10.1007/s004420050915 |pmid=28307883 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304190836/http://www.uam.es/personal_pdi/ciencias/jonate/Ecologia/Tema%2023/Fedriani.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2016 |df=dmy-all |citeseerx=10.1.1.587.7215 |bibcode=1999Oecol.121..138F |s2cid=39202154 }}</ref> To avoid predation and to navigate underground, rabbits have heightened senses (compared to humans) and are constantly aware of their surroundings. If confronted by a potential threat, a rabbit may freeze and observe, then warn others in the warren with powerful thumps on the ground from a hind foot. Rabbits have a remarkably wide field of vision, and a good deal of it is devoted to overhead scanning.<ref name="Tynes">{{Cite book|last=Tynes |first=Valarie V. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kPFW95tjKpQC&pg=PA70 |pages=70–73 |title=Behavior of Exotic Pets |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160506173801/https://books.google.com/books?id=kPFW95tjKpQC&lpg=PA70 |archive-date=6 May 2016 |publisher=Wiley Blackwell |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-8138-0078-3 |url-status=live}}</ref> A rabbit eye has no [[Fovea centralis|fovea]], but a "visual streak", a horizontal line in the middle of the retina where both rod and cone cell densities are the highest. This allows them to scan the horizon with little head turning.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bringmann |first1=Andreas |last2=Syrbe |first2=Steffen |last3=Görner |first3=Katja |last4=Kacza |first4=Johannes |last5=Francke |first5=Mike |last6=Wiedemann |first6=Peter |last7=Reichenbach |first7=Andreas |date=2018-09-01 |title=The primate fovea: Structure, function and development |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1350946217301167 |journal=Progress in Retinal and Eye Research |volume=66 |pages=49–84 |doi=10.1016/j.preteyeres.2018.03.006 |pmid=29609042 |issn=1350-9462|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lavaud |first1=Arnold |last2=Soukup |first2=Petr |last3=Martin |first3=Louise |last4=Hartnack |first4=Sonja |last5=Pot |first5=Simon |date=2020-04-23 |title=Spectral Domain Optical Coherence Tomography in Awake Rabbits Allows Identification of the Visual Streak, a Comparison with Histology |url=https://tvst.arvojournals.org/article.aspx?articleid=2765151 |journal=Translational Vision Science & Technology |language=en |volume=9 |issue=5 |pages=13 |doi=10.1167/tvst.9.5.13 |issn=2164-2591 |pmc=7401941 |pmid=32821485}}</ref>

Rabbits survive predation by burrowing (in some species),{{Sfn|Varga|2013|p=3-4}} and hopping away<ref name=":7" /> to dense cover.<ref name=":9" /> Their strong teeth allow them to bite to escape a struggle.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Davis |first1=Susan E. |last2=DeMello |first2=Margo |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZCS5yfJ7NAEC&pg=PA27 |title=Stories Rabbits Tell: A Natural And Cultural History of A Misunderstood Creature |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160506182606/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZCS5yfJ7NAEC&lpg=PA27 |archive-date=6 May 2016 |publisher=Lantern Books |year=2003 |page=27 |isbn=978-1-59056-044-0 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The longest-lived rabbit on record, a domesticated [[European rabbit]] living in [[Tasmania]], died at age 18.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Guinness World Records 2014|last=Glenday|first=Craig|year=2013|isbn=978-1-908843-15-9|pages=[https://archive.org/details/guinnessworldrec0000unse_r3e7/page/043 043]|publisher=Guinness World Records Limited |url=https://archive.org/details/guinnessworldrec0000unse_r3e7/page/043}}</ref> The lifespan of wild rabbits is much shorter; the average longevity of an [[eastern cottontail]], for instance, is about one<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.in.gov/dnr/fish-and-wildlife/wildlife-resources/animals/cottontail-rabbit/ |title=Cottontail rabbit |website=Indiana Department of Natural Resources |date=29 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240529151818/https://www.in.gov/dnr/fish-and-wildlife/wildlife-resources/animals/cottontail-rabbit/ |archive-date=29 May 2024 |url-status=live}}</ref> to five years.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.demogr.mpg.de/longevityrecords/ |first1=James R. |last1=Carey |first2=Debra S. |last2=Judge |title=Longevity Records |series=Monographs on Population Aging |date=2000 |volume=8 |publisher=Odense University Press |isbn=87-7838-539-3 |issn=0909-119X }}</ref> The various species of rabbit have been recorded as living from four<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Brachylagus_idahoensis |title=AnAge entry for ''Brachylagus idahoensis'' |website=AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database |publisher=Human Ageing Genomic Resources |access-date=8 October 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|first=Richard |last=Weigl |year=2005 |title=Longevity of Mammals in Captivity; from the Living Collections of the World |publisher=Kleine Senckenberg-Reihe 48 |location=Stuttgart}}</ref> to 13 years in captivity.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Oryctolagus_cuniculus |title=AnAge entry for ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' |website=AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database |publisher=Human Ageing Genomic Resources |access-date=8 October 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|doi=10.1371/journal.pbio.3000432 |pmid=31518381 |title=Variation in actuarial senescence does not reflect life span variation across mammals |first1=Guillaume |last1=Péron |first2=Jean-François |last2=Lemaître |first3=Victor |last3=Ronget |first4=Morgane |last4=Tidière |first5=Jean-Michel |last5=Gaillard |journal=[[PLoS Biol.]] |date=September 13, 2019 |volume=17 |issue=9|pages=e3000432 |doi-access=free |pmc=6760812 }}</ref>

===Habitat and range===
[[File:Swamp Rabbit- Sylvilagus aquaticus (50743049841).jpg|thumb|''[[Sylvilagus aquaticus]]'' (swamp rabbit) in its natural habitat]]
Rabbit habitats include forests, steppes, plateaus, deserts,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ge |first1=Deyan |last2=Wen |first2=Zhixin |last3=Xia |first3=Lin |last4=Zhang |first4=Zhaoqun |last5=Erbajeva |first5=Margarita |last6=Huang |first6=Chengming |last7=Yang |first7=Qisen |date=2013-04-03 |editor-last=Evans |editor-first=Alistair Robert |title=Evolutionary History of Lagomorphs in Response to Global Environmental Change |journal=PLOS ONE |language=en |volume=8 |issue=4 |pages=e59668 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0059668 |doi-access=free |issn=1932-6203 |pmc=3616043 |pmid=23573205|bibcode=2013PLoSO...859668G }}</ref> and swamps.<ref name="ADW">[http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Sylvilagus_aquaticus/ ''Sylvilagus aquaticus'' (swamp rabbit)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130527121510/http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Sylvilagus_aquaticus/|date=2013-05-27}}, [[Animal Diversity Web]], [[University of Michigan Museum of Natural History|University of Michigan Museum of Zoology]].</ref> Some species, such as the [[volcano rabbit]] (''Romerolagus diazi'') have especially limited distribution due to their habitat needs.<ref>{{Citation |last=Caravaggi |first=Anthony |title=Lagomorpha Life History |date=2022 |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior |pages=3826–3834 |editor-last=Vonk |editor-first=Jennifer |url=https://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-319-55065-7_1206 |access-date=2024-11-13 |place=Cham |publisher=Springer International Publishing |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-55065-7_1206 |isbn=978-3-319-55064-0 |editor2-last=Shackelford |editor2-first=Todd K.|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Rabbits live in groups, or colonies, varying in behavior depending on species and often using the [[burrow]]s of other animals or creating nests in holes.{{Sfn|Varga|2013|p=3-4}} The [[European rabbit]] notably lives in extensive burrow networks called ''warrens''.<ref name="EcologyOcun">{{Cite journal|doi=10.1111/j.1744-7348.1940.tb07522.x |title=The ecology and population dynamics of the wild rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) |last=Southern |first=H. N. |journal=Annals of Applied Biology |date=November 1940 |volume=27 |issue=4 |pages=509–526}}</ref>

Rabbits are native to North America, southwestern Europe, Southeast Asia, [[Sumatra]], some islands of Japan, and parts of Africa and South America. They are not naturally found in most of [[Eurasia]], where a number of species of [[hare]]s are present.<ref name=Marshall1982 /> A 2003 study on domestic rabbits in China found that "(so-called) Chinese rabbits were introduced from Europe", and that "genetic diversity in Chinese rabbits was very low".<ref name=":4" />

Rabbits first entered South America relatively recently, as part of the [[Great American Interchange]].<ref name=Marshall1982>{{Cite journal |last1=Marshall |first1=Larry G. |last2=Webb |first2=S. David |last3=Sepkoski |first3=J. John |last4=Raup |first4=David M. |date=1982 |title=Mammalian Evolution and the Great American Interchange |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1688046 |journal=Science |volume=215 |issue=4538 |pages=1351–1357 |doi=10.1126/science.215.4538.1351 |jstor=1688046 |pmid=17753000 |bibcode=1982Sci...215.1351M |issn=0036-8075|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Much of the continent was considered to have just one species of rabbit, the [[tapeti]],<ref name="Emmons 1997">{{cite book |author1=Emmons |first=Louise H. |url=https://archive.org/details/neotropicalrainf0000emmo/mode/2up |title=Neotropical Rainforest Mammals: A Field Guide |author2=Feer, Francois |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=1990 |pages=227–228 |language=en |url-access=registration}}</ref>{{Efn|In addition to the common tapeti, several other species in genus ''Sylvilagus'' are known to inhabit South and Central America: the [[Andean tapeti]], the [[Central American tapeti]], the [[coastal tapeti]], the [[Santa Marta tapeti]], and the [[Venezuelan lowland rabbit]].}} and most of South America's [[Southern Cone]] has had no rabbits until the introduction of the European rabbit, which has been introduced to many places around the world,<ref name="Encyclopædia Britannica" /> in the late 19th century.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Cassini |first1=Marcelo H. |last2=Rivas |first2=Luciano |date=August 2023 |title=Lack of evidence of significant impact of European rabbits on Patagonian forest regeneration |url=https://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10344-023-01710-1 |journal=European Journal of Wildlife Research |language=en |volume=69 |issue=4 |page=74 |doi=10.1007/s10344-023-01710-1 |bibcode=2023EJWR...69...74C |issn=1612-4642|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Rabbits have been [[Animals in space|launched into space orbit]].<ref name=Beischer1962>{{cite journal |author1=Beischer, DE |author2=Fregly, AR |title=Animals and man in space. A chronology and annotated bibliography through the year 1960 |journal=US Naval School of Aviation Medicine |volume=ONR TR ACR-64 |issue=AD0272581 |year=1962 |url=https://archive.org/details/AnimalsAndManInSpaceChronologyAndBibliography |access-date=10 September 2024 }}</ref>

===Marking===
Both sexes of rabbits often rub their chins on objects with their [[scent gland]] located under the chin. This is the rabbit's way of marking their territory or possessions for other rabbits to recognize by depositing scent gland secretions. Rabbits who have bonded will respect each other's smell, which indicates a territorial border.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hoffman |first1=Kurt L. |last2=Hernández Decasa |first2=D. M. |last3=Beyer Ruiz |first3=M. E. |last4=González-Mariscal |first4=Gabriela |date=2010-03-05 |title=Scent marking by the male domestic rabbit (''Oryctolagus cuniculus'') is stimulated by an object's novelty and its specific visual or tactile characteristics |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0166432809006299 |journal=Behavioural Brain Research |volume=207 |issue=2 |pages=360–367 |doi=10.1016/j.bbr.2009.10.021 |pmid=19857527 |s2cid=10827948 |issn=0166-4328|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Rabbits also have scent glands that produce a strong-smelling waxy substance near their anuses.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Scent glands |url=https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/scent-glands/ |access-date=2024-09-10 |website=Rabbit Welfare Association & Fund (RWAF) |language=en-GB}}</ref> Territorial marking by scent glands has been documented among both domestic<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Arteaga |first1=Lourdes |last2=Bautista |first2=Amando |last3=Martínez-Gómez |first3=Margarita |last4=Nicolás |first4=Leticia |last5=Hudson |first5=Robyn |date=June 2008 |title=Scent marking, dominance and serum testosterone levels in male domestic rabbits |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0031938408000784 |journal=Physiology & Behavior |language=en |volume=94 |issue=3 |pages=510–515 |doi=10.1016/j.physbeh.2008.03.005|pmid=18436270 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> and wild rabbit species.<ref name=":9" />

===Environmental problems===
{{See also|European rabbit#As an introduced species}}
[[File:Rabbit fence Cobar October 1905.jpg|thumb|Impact of rabbit-proof fence, Cobar, New South Wales, 1905]]
Rabbits, particularly the European rabbit,<ref name=":9" /> have been a source of environmental problems when introduced into the wild by humans. As a result of their appetites, and the rate at which they breed, [[feral]] rabbit depredation can be problematic for agriculture. Gassing ([[fumigation]] of warrens),<ref>{{cite web |last1=Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development |last2=Agriculture and Food Division |last3=Pest and Disease Information Service (PaDIS) |title=Rabbit control: fumigation |url=https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/baits-poisons/rabbit-control-fumigation |website=agric.wa.gov.au |publisher=Government of Western Australia |access-date=25 September 2021 |language=en}}</ref> [[Rabbit-proof fence|barriers (fences)]],<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Crawford |first=J S |date=1969 |title=History of the state vermin barrier fences, formerly known as rabbit proof fences |url=https://library.dpird.wa.gov.au/reports/14/ |access-date=3 May 2023 |journal=Research Reports}}</ref> shooting, snaring, and [[Rabbiting#Ferreting|ferreting]]<ref>{{cite journal |last=Cowan |first=D. P. |date=1 December 1984 |title=The use of ferrets (Mustela furo) in the study and management of the European wild rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) |journal=Journal of Zoology |language=en |volume=204 |issue=4 |pages=570–574 |doi=10.1111/j.1469-7998.1984.tb02391.x |issn=1469-7998}}</ref><ref name=":14">{{cite book |last1=Williams |first1=Kent |title=Managing Vertebrate Pests: Rabbits |last2=Parer |first2=Ian |last3=Coman |first3=Brian |last4=Burley |first4=John |last5=Braysher |first5=Mike |date=1995 |publisher=Australian Govt. Pub. Service |isbn=978-0644296236 |location=Canberra |oclc=153977337}}</ref> have been used to control rabbit populations,<ref name=":14"/> but the most effective measures are diseases such as [[myxomatosis]] and [[Rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus|calicivirus]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=CSIRO |title=Biological control of rabbits |url=https://www.csiro.au/en/research/animals/pests/biological-control-of-rabbits |access-date=2024-10-09 |website=www.csiro.au |language=en}}</ref> In Europe, where domestic rabbits are farmed on a large scale, they can be protected against myxomatosis and calicivirus via vaccination.<ref name="Meredith 2013">{{cite journal |last=Meredith |first=A |date=2013 |title=Viral skin diseases of the rabbit |journal=Veterinary Clinics of North America: Exotic Animal Practice |volume=16 |issue=3 |pages=705–714 |doi=10.1016/j.cvex.2013.05.010 |pmid=24018033}}</ref> [[Rabbits in Australia]] and New Zealand are considered to be such a pest that landowners are legally obliged to control them.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/invasive/ferals/index.html |title=Feral animals in Australia&nbsp;— Invasive species |publisher=Environment.gov.au |date=1 February 2010 |access-date=30 August 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100721222513/http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/invasive/ferals/index.html |archive-date=21 July 2010 |df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref name="rabbit laws in NZ">{{cite web |url=http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/rabbits/7 |title=Rabbits&nbsp;— The role of government&nbsp;— Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand |publisher=Teara.govt.nz |date=1 March 2009 |access-date=30 August 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110612101254/http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/rabbits/7 |archive-date=12 June 2011 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

Rabbits are known to be able to catch fire and spread wildfires, particularly in Chile, where the European rabbit is an invasive species,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Pablo |first=Camus |last2=Sergio |first2=Castro |last3=Fabián |first3=Jaksic |date=2008 |title=Europen rabbits in Chile: the history of a biological invasion |url=https://socialsciences.scielo.org/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0717-71942008000100001&lng=es&nrm=iso |journal=Historia (Santiago) |volume=4 |issue=SE |issn=0717-7194 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20241219015415/http://socialsciences.scielo.org/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0717-71942008000100001&lng=es&nrm=iso |archive-date=2024-12-19}}</ref> but the efficiency and relevance of this mechanism has been doubted by forest experts who contend that a rabbit on fire could move some meters.<ref>{{Cite news |title="Es cierto": Experto confirma que conejos y otros animales en llamas sí pueden propagar incendios |url=https://www.biobiochile.cl/noticias/ciencia-y-tecnologia/ciencia/2023/02/23/es-cierto-experto-confirma-que-conejos-y-otros-animales-en-llamas-si-pueden-propagar-incendios.shtml |last=Jerez |first=Sara |date=2023-02-23 |access-date=2023-02-23 |work=[[Radio Bío-Bío]] |language=Spanish}}</ref><ref name=delmar>{{Cite news |title=Experto forestal: "Los conejos no son un agente significativo de propagación de incendios" |url=https://www.eldesconcierto.cl/bienes-comunes/2023/02/23/experto-forestal-los-conejos-no-son-un-agente-significativo-de-propagacion-de-incendios.html |last=del Mar Parra |first=Maria |date=2023-02-23 |access-date=2023-02-23 |work=El Desconcierto |language=Spanish}}</ref> Knowledge on fire-spreading rabbits is based on anecdotes as there is no known scientific investigation on the subject.<ref name=delmar/>