Overview

The European rabbit is the wild ancestor of domestic pet rabbits and one of the most familiar mammals across countryside worldwide. Living in colonies that share complex burrow systems called warrens, rabbits graze at dawn and dusk, retreating underground at the first sign of danger.

A rabbit thumping its hind foot is broadcasting alarm — a signal that sends the warren diving for cover. Despite being ubiquitous in fields and hedgerows, wild rabbit populations have declined sharply in parts of their native range from disease and habitat loss.

Habitat

Short-grass pasture, farmland, coastal dunes, and scrubby heath suit rabbits best — anywhere they can dig warrens in well-drained soil near feeding ground. They thrive on grazed grassland and the edges of arable fields.

Countries found

Interesting facts

01
Rabbits thump their hind legs to warn the warren of approaching danger.
02
A single warren can house dozens of rabbits in interconnected burrows.
03
Myxomatosis and rabbit haemorrhagic disease have devastated populations in some regions.

Conservation status

NT — Near Threatened

European rabbits are Near Threatened in their native Iberian range due to disease and habitat change, though introduced populations in the UK, Australia, and elsewhere remain abundant locally.