Is it true that a cunning rabbit has three burrows? How much do you know about these interesting facts about rabbits →

Chinese people are familiar with rabbits. There is a description of rabbits in the poem Mulan: "The male rabbit's feet are confused, the female rabbit's eyes are blurred, the two rabbits walk side by side, how can I tell which is male and which is female?" This sentence is to distinguish the gender of the rabbit from its external appearance, which is actually difficult to do in reality and is not accurate. The scientific way is to check the rabbit's genitals . This is easy for rabbits over 3-4 months old, because the male rabbit's genitals are basically fully developed at that time, and the male rabbit's testicles can be clearly seen. However, it is still difficult to distinguish the gender of rabbits less than three months old. Generally speaking, the female rabbit's genital hole is flat and longitudinal and closer to the anus, while the male rabbit's genital hole is round and farther away from the anus.

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01

Do rabbits like to eat carrots?

The impression that rabbits love to eat carrots has long been deeply rooted in people's minds. So, do rabbits really like to eat carrots in reality?

In taxonomy, hares belong to the genus Lepus in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha. There are dozens of hare subspecies around the world. They can adapt to a variety of environments, from forests, grasslands to deserts. Hares are typical herbivorous animals. Their diet in the wild is very wide, including various non-toxic weeds, plant seeds, fruits, and tree branches, leaves, and tender bark. Among these foods, hares' favorites are the seedlings and tender leaves of alfalfa and legume plants, but not carrots from the family Umbelliferae. Besides, carrots are crops grown by humans, and hares don't have many opportunities to eat carrots in the wild.

Domestic rabbits are domesticated species of wild rabbits, and most of their habits are the same as those of wild rabbits. However, in the process of breeding, domestic rabbits have lost the ability to actively forage for food, and cannot make their own choices when fed by humans. In addition, they have a wide range of food preferences, so if you feed them carrots, they will not refuse. However, in the long-term adaptive evolution, the rabbit's digestive tract and digestive flora are fully adapted to digesting various weeds. Carrots have a relatively high sugar content, which is not suitable for the digestive system of wild rabbits.

The rabbit's "three-lobed mouth" is closely related to its "eating habits" and is the product of long-term adaptive evolution. Rabbits are typical herbivorous animals. They have well-developed incisors to help them gnaw on various grasses, grass roots and tree barks. When rabbits gnaw on grass roots, the three-lobed mouth helps to turn out the incisors. In this way, when gnaw on very short grass and grass roots, they will not be restrained by their lips.

Another popular rumor is "rabbit's red eyes". This is not true. In reality, rabbits have many different colors, including black, blue, gray, etc. Red is just one of them. The color of rabbit eyes is determined by the pigments in the body. The red eyes of rabbits we see are not the color of the rabbit's eyes themselves, but the color of the blood in the capillaries in the eyeballs. Red eyes are actually transparent. In evolution, the color of rabbit eyes is an adaptation to the surrounding environment and can be inherited.

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Clairaudience

Many people like to pinch rabbits' ears, and think they are very cute. From the perspective of rabbits, rabbits' ears are the "radar" of the body, which is highly sensitive and naturally does not want humans to touch them. In nature, hares are timid by nature and have many natural enemies. The biggest threats to them are foxes, wolves, dogs, and eagles. In order to avoid natural enemies, hares use their big ears to pay close attention to the surrounding situation.

The large ears of hares are like radars for searching enemy aircraft, and the dense hair inside their ears is like an antenna. Whenever they raise their ears high and turn them slightly, the tiny sounds from tens of meters away will be received by their sensitive hearing. Therefore, even rabbits can judge the enemy situation behind them without turning their heads. After determining the direction of the sound source, rabbits will be in a state of high alert and ready to escape at any time. Only when they are resting will they droop their ears and press them against the back of their necks.

Once the hare finds the enemy, it will flee immediately. Being good at running is a skill that the hare has developed in its long struggle for survival. The hare has short forelimbs and slightly longer hind legs, well-developed waist muscles, strong limbs, and the whole body always maintains a forward-leaning posture. When escaping, it has strong explosive power, like a spring, and can reach a maximum speed of 80 kilometers per hour over short distances, and has amazing endurance. Even if the prey approaches the hare, the smart hare will make a sharp turn at the critical moment and throw off the natural enemy. Even at the moment of being caught, the experienced hare will use all its strength to kick the natural enemy away regardless of the pain. The hare's hind legs are very developed, and the force generated is enough to break the claws of a golden eagle and kick out the front teeth of a wolf.

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A cunning rabbit has three burrows

When being chased by natural enemies, hares, which are good at running, will not run blindly. They also have a trick to avoid enemies. Hares are good at using caves to avoid enemies. Usually, hares will "investigate" all the caves in the area where they are active, and do so repeatedly without getting tired. When being chased by enemies during the day, hares can quickly and accurately escape into nearby caves. Although hares have the ability to escape through caves, they do not like to stay in caves for a long time and always like to live on the surface. In summer, they often lie under plants, and in winter, they choose to dig caves on the surface in the leeward and sunny places, or lie in the appropriate part of the field facing the wind. Hares are cunning by nature, move secretly, and often change their hiding places.

It is often said that "a cunning rabbit has three burrows", but there is a kind of burrowing rabbit that has at least 5 burrows, and it has a raised mound of earth at the main entrance. Burrowing rabbits are excellent architects. The depth of their burrows can reach 3 meters, and the length is more than 40 meters. The diameter of the burrow is about 15 cm, and its bedroom is 30-60 cm high. Those burrows without mounds are mainly used to temporarily escape from natural enemies. On some coastal islands, there are often many rabbits making nests in the same area adjacent to each other. At a glance, the holes on the ground are dotted and densely packed. Whenever a dangerous situation is discovered, the frightened burrowing rabbit often knocks the ground with its hind legs, making a thumping sound. This is undoubtedly a sound that conveys a warning signal, which can be heard by the neighbors. The neighbors also understand and quickly get into the hole one by one.

Author: Zhao Xumao, a young researcher at Lanzhou University and chief popular science expert at Jincheng

Review | Huang Chengming, Researcher, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences

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