Rabbits may seem like cute, carrot-munching creatures in popular culture, but these amazing animals have much more going for them! Rabbits dig complex tunnels underground, can consume their own waste and exhibit binkying behaviors which involve jumping in sync with one another.
Rabbits need toys, companionship, and space to live happily – discover more interesting facts about rabbits in this article!
1. They can smell with their mouths
Rabbits are more than the adorable carrot-munching creatures popular culture often depicts. These incredible animals can dig complex tunnels, weigh over 20 pounds, and even consume their own waste!
Rabbit ears can move in all directions, giving them the ability to detect predators’ footsteps from long distance. Additionally, their ears play an integral part in maintaining body temperature – when rabbits become hot and their blood vessels dilate in response, dissipating heat while cooling down; conversely when cold temperatures strike their blood vessels contract to retain heat.
Thumping Rabbits may seem distressed when thumping is heard; in reality it indicates their happiness and contentment. Rabbits thump to mark their territory or alert other rabbits of potential danger; sometimes even just wanting petted will cause them to make this noise.
Shocking as it may be, rabbits often eat their own waste to gain an additional dose of vitamins from their droppings and aid digestion – an act known as coprophagy.
Though rabbits appear to be running away from danger, their tails actually serve to distract and confuse predators, giving them enough time to escape safely and find safety.
Rabbits may enjoy enjoying an occasional carrot snack, but they cannot survive on carrots alone. Carrots don’t form part of their natural diet and feeding too frequently can lead to tooth decay; grasses, hay, and other fibrous foods such as alfalfa hay pellets available from pet stores should provide enough sustenance for their diets.
2. They can move their ears to listen
Rabbits make adorable pets, yet there’s much more to them than what pop culture has portrayed them to be. Rabbits dig sophisticated tunnels for shelter, can eat their own waste and have incredible hearing that allows them to detect predators from a long way off.
When rabbits want to listen, their ears move in all different directions to focus on what’s being heard – this allows them to detect predators’ footsteps sneaking up behind them in the wild and hear when danger threatens. Rabbits have an ability to rotate both ears 360 degrees at the same time while each one may independently turn itself onto its head.
Rabbits use their ears to communicate with other rabbits as well. Mating rabbits will erect their ears in such a way as to show other rabbits they are ready for mating. Rabbits also use their ears as an expression of happiness or discontent: when contented rabbits rub against one another with fur rubbed against their body and produce sounds similar to purring, while unhappy ones will squeal, growl or hum.
Even when domesticated, rabbits still maintain an instinctual understanding that they are prey animals in the wild. Their lives revolve around survival; therefore they remain alert at all times; this explains why they run, hide and bite when people try to pick them up; their sense of hearing plays an essential part in protecting them from potential dangers.
3. They can wave their ears around
Rabbits have the ability to rotate their ears up to 180 degrees, which allows them to pinpoint the source of sounds more accurately and display different emotions such as fear or curiosity by shifting their ears accordingly.
Your rabbit may be alerting you of potential threats nearby if their ears flick back and forth; conversely, slanted forward-up ears indicate an interest in something novel in its habitat.
Rabbits use their ears to help regulate their body temperature. When they become hot, their ears expand outward to release heat into the air and cool them down; when cold weather sets in, their ears contract inward, keeping in heat so as to remain comfortable.
Ears provide rabbits with another method for communication between themselves and other rabbits. Thumping of ears may mark territory or warn other rabbits of danger; moreover, rabbits often thump to express excitement or playfulness.
Ears can also aid individuals in maintaining balance. Alongside the cochlear, which converts vibrations into electrical signals for the brain, there are three semi-circular canals at right angles to each other known as vestibular organ that detect rotational movements and send these signals directly to your brain.
Rabbits use balance and spatial orientation, along with hearing and smelling abilities, to maintain equilibrium and spatial orientation. Rabbits can twitch their noses or paws to express emotion or affectionately lick their chins when scared; their facial muscles contract during moments of fear while running; zigzagging to distract predators while providing time to escape is another strategy they employ when running away from predators.
4. They can almost see in 360 degrees
Rabbits make great companion pets. But did you know they possess incredible vision?
Their farsighted vision enables them to detect predators and other dangers from a distance, giving them time to react swiftly and run away quickly from any threats that arise.
Rabbits use lateral vision, which enables them to see movements all around them from both front and behind, such as movements from behind them. Unfortunately, rabbits have one small blind spot between their nose and underchin that affects depth perception at close range (they only see in two dimensions rather than three dimensions). Luckily they use their sense of smell and whiskers as ways of pinpointing what’s directly ahead of them.
Animals have the same ability to see in low light conditions or at dusk thanks to rod cells in their retinas that respond to wavelengths of light, though due to having fewer color-detecting cones than humans they cannot fully appreciate the spectrum of colors that we experience.
As a result, they typically possess grainy farsighted vision with limited color vision and depth perception at close range. Furthermore, their depth perception at close range is poor, making depth perception an issue at close range and their speed perception often misjudged – meaning nodding their head up and down can help determine movement between objects, such as approaching predators versus just another bunny in the yard. They may clench their jaws or shake their heads if threatened, so be wary not to startle a rabbit lest they may run off into the woods instantly! It’s vital not startle them or they may quickly run off into the wild!
5. They can eat their own poo
Rabbits are extremely clean pets. They spend much of their day grooming themselves, meaning they don’t require baths from their owners like other animals do. Rabbits also possess an amazing natural ability to lick off any dirt or hair from their fur, which also serves to remove parasites living there.
Your pet was likely developed from wild rabbit ancestors that evolved a unique digestive system so they could survive on diets rich in fibrous plants found in their environments. Most animals cannot extract all the essential nutrients from fiber-rich plant matter when it passes through their digestive systems once, so your pet often resorts to coprophagy (the practice of eating their own waste) so ceco organ organisms can digest it further and make it easier for him or her to absorb all essential vitamins from it.
This behavior is natural for rabbits to do, and perfectly normal. Additionally, this allows them to obtain as many essential nutrients from their high-fiber food source in nature as possible.
Rabbits are famously capable of rotating their ears 270 degrees to detect potential threats in the distance and stay cool on hot days thanks to oversized ears which serve double duty by serving as a cooling mechanism.
Rabbits may make sounds similar to purring when they’re happy or excited – just like cats do – which serves as a sign of affection between the species. Additionally, rabbits can emit growl-like sounds when upset or trying to scare off someone from approaching.