Rabbits

The tame rabbits you can handle, have been bred for human pets, but are the same species as wild rabbits.

Rabbits are some of the few animals we keep at Noah’s Ark that have always been in Europe.

They are now thought to have been brought to Britain in the 12th Century when they were carefully farmed in warrens, by warreners. Dolebury Warren is one such near here, and Wrington and Rowberrow Warrens both have a Warren House on them.

Rabbits remain a very important source of meat for many parts of the world. They are the numerically largest development animal for the Third World as they breed fast and are so good for converting rough grass into human food protein. Their skins are also valuable.

Rabbits are, with Hares, members of the Leporidae Family. Along with Pikas they are in an Order of mammals that have been given jaws in which the teeth on the upper and lower jaws are only opposite each other on one side, so they grind their food sideways. They have four upper front teeth instead of a rodent’s two.

The rabbit gives birth after only 28 days of pregnancy but the young are blind, deaf, almost naked and helpless.