Rabbit

Domestic rabbits differ from wild ones in coat color, fur length, and weight — they can reach up to 10 kg. The Angora rabbit's down makes up about 90% of its fur.
A wild rabbit is born hairless, blind, and helpless, weighing 40–50 g. Its eyes open 10 days after birth.
Wild rabbits have high juvenile mortality from coccidiosis and flooding of burrows during rainy periods. Up to 90% of young die in their first year.
A wild rabbit hibernates under a protective layer of pine bark, which becomes a warm roof. In Finland, it survives harsh cold by sheltering in such winter burrows.
Up to 60% of wild rabbit pregnancies end in spontaneous resorption of embryos. In females younger than 10 months, the average litter size is 4.2.
A wild rabbit forms a colony of 3,000–3,500 individuals in 8 years, with a hunting level up to 1,000 carcasses per year. In Evpatoria, on a poor coastal solonchak where only harmal grew, 30 animals were released.
A wild rabbit lives up to 12–15 years. Maximum lifespan is rare, as most individuals do not live past three years.
A wild rabbit digs deep, complex burrows, spending a significant part of its life in them. Unlike hares, it does this constantly, creating family and nesting burrows.
The European rabbit displaces local species by eating relic vegetation in Australia. It reproduces quickly, increasing pressure on native fauna and flora.
The doe seals the nest chamber after each visit and nurses the young only once a day.

Age

European rabbits typically live for 5 to 9 years, with a maximum lifespan of 13 years, and a theoretical lifespan ranging from 9 years and 4 months to 10 years and 5 months; the age of sexual maturity varies from 3 months to 2 years. The young’s eyes open between 1 week and 1 week and 4 days. The "Embryo" stage involves the embryo developing within the mother's body for approximately one month, during which it does not feed independently. Following birth, the species enters the "Kitten" stage, where the newborn is naked, blind, and lives in a nest within a burrow, lasting from 1 day to 3 weeks. The "Adult" stage begins when the animal is capable of reproduction and living independently, and this stage lasts from 5 months to 8 years and 3 months.

Phenotype

Young European rabbits have eyes that open approximately on the tenth day of life, and their skin is thin and pink, lacking fur during the first days. The species has long ears that detect the sounds of predators and help cool the body, and four powerful hind legs that allow for rapid running and burrowing. Furthermore, the adult form possesses dense fur that provides camouflage and protection from the cold, and its front teeth grow continuously and are used for cutting plants. The adult rabbit also has two ears.

Physiology

European rabbits have a body height ranging from 68 to 75 centimeters and a body length from 34 to 50 centimeters; their mass varies from 4.23 to 4.32 kilograms. The embryo stage has a body mass from 0 to 0.1 grams, while the young have a body mass ranging from 30 to 200 grams and a body length from 5 to 12 centimeters. An adult rabbit’s body mass is between 1.2 and 2.5 kilograms, with a body length from 34 to 50 centimeters.

Habitat

European rabbits inhabit landscapes including terrestrial forests, grasslands and steppes, and shrublands, at elevations up to 1.5 kilometers; the species’ biome preferences include temperate mixed forests with warm summers and many oak, birch, and maple trees, flooded meadows with abundant grass, temperate steppes with plentiful grass and few trees, and taiga characterized by cold winters and coniferous trees such as spruce and pine; the climate varies, but always features abundant rainfall and high humidity, sometimes accompanied by cool summers and snow in winter, other times featuring warm summers, and occasionally a comfortable summer with temperatures between 20 and 25 degrees Celsius.

Shelter

European rabbits inhabit soft soil on slopes or plains and utilize burrows for shelter. The species uses an excavated underground tunnel or chamber for protection, breeding, and resting. Burrow construction incorporates soil, branches, wool, roots, grass, and bark. These structures provide protection from predators, facilitate reproduction, and serve as places to rest.

Geography

European rabbits are found in the biogeographical realms of Palearctica and Australasia, inhabiting various ecosystems including Celtic broadleaf forests, Western European broadleaf forests, the Qilian Mountains’ coniferous forests, Balkan mixed forests, Baltic mixed forests, and European Atlantic mixed forests.

Feeding

European rabbits are herbivores, feeding exclusively on plants and grazing on grass and leaves while gnawing on bark and branches. The species obtains food by gnawing on vegetation and consumes grass, leaves, bark, branches, roots, and wood. Daily food intake ranges from 80 grams to 250 grams. Young rabbits feed solely on milk. Predators that hunt the species include eagles, eagle owls, monitor lizards, badgers, and civets. In some cultures, the animal is consumed but is not considered kosher.

Reproduction

Embryonic development occurs from 4 weeks 2 days to 1 month. Clutch size is 1–12. Maturity occurs from 3 months 1 week to 6 months. Litter size is 4–12. The female carries the offspring for about a month and gives birth to them in a special chamber inside the burrow; several litters may be produced per year. The reproductive interval is from 4 weeks 1 day to 2 months. Habitat—they live and develop on land, outside of water bodies. In a terrestrial nest—eggs, eggs, or offspring develop in a nest built on the ground or close to it. In a burrow—the nest is hidden in an underground burrow. A caring mother—the nest is hidden in an underground burrow, only the mother shows parental care for the offspring. Live birth—offspring are born alive on land, they do not hatch from eggs or larvae. Ordinary sexual—homogamy, reproduction always with fertilization, without alternation of generations.