Today is the Lunar New Year, welcoming the #YearOfTheRabbit!
Hare are seven fun facts about the most popular animal of 2023. 🐇 #Thread
Hare vs rabbit. What's the difference? Though they share a taxonomic family (Leporida), they are different species—kind of like sheep and goats are similar but not the same.
Hares are larger compared to rabbits, have longer ears and hind legs, and are less social.
The Flemish giant is the largest rabbit breed in the world, weighing an average of 11kg (equivalent to a human one-year-old).
The rare Columbia Basin pygmy rabbits are considered the smallest breed, which weighs less than 500g when fully grown. ⚖️
A baby rabbit is called a kitten, or kit. They reach independence at around three weeks old, and they start breeding at around 3-8 months.
With a short gestation period and ovulation triggered by intercourse, a female rabbit can have 336–600 kits in her lifetime.🫄
An essential component of a rabbit's diet is their own poop. 💩
After digesting a meal, they'll excrete it as cecotropes (poop that's softer and meant to be eaten).
Having another go at their meal means they can absorb any nutrients they missed the first time around.
Rabbits have near-360° vision. This is pretty handy when many predators would like to have you for dinner. 👀
The trade-off is that they end up with a small blind spot right in front of their faces.
With their long legs, it's no surprise that rabbits are jumping virtuosos.
The highest recorded rabbit jump reached 99.5cm, and the record for the rabbit long jump is 3m. 🦘
Their ears aren't just absolutely adorable. They can rotate 270°, listening out for threats up to 3km away.
The large, flat ears also act as a perfect temperature control tool, cooling their blood on a hot day by bringing it up to the surface. 🌡️
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