Granddad’s Camera
Rabbit, as it appears in the game

No.017 · Mammals · Common

Rabbit

Oryctolagus cuniculus

Grass-nibbling, sandy-brown, and never far from a burrow. Rabbits were brought to Britain by the Romans or Normans and now live in almost every habitat.

When to look

All year, mostly at dawn and dusk.

Time of day

Best time
Dawn and dusk, all year; young kits appear from March.
Where in the game
Millbrook (farmland, park, churchyard, canal and garden), the New Forest (lawn, heath and ancient woodland) and the Pembrokeshire coast (clifftop and island)
Size
Head and body about 30–40 cm
Weight
About 1.2–2 kg
Lifespan
Few live beyond 2 years; the maximum is about 3 (Mammal Society, PTES)
Population
About 36 million in Britain (Mammal Society, 2018; PTES); rural numbers fell by two-thirds between 1995 and 2022 (PTES)
Status
Non-native (introduced); not applicable on the British Red List

Diet

Grass, herbs, crops and bark; digs up roots in winter.

Habitat

Grassland, dunes, heath, farmland, cliff-tops, parks and railway banks; lives in warrens.

Breeding

Breeds roughly January–August; 3–7 kits per litter, born hairless and blind in a grass-lined nest stopped up with soil; a doe can have several litters a year.

Field signs

  • Neat, pea-sized droppings in piles, often on a mound or scrape
  • Round burrow entrances, 10–15 cm across, with fresh soil spoil
  • Short, close-cropped grass 'lawns' around warrens

Did you know?

  • Myxomatosis, which reached Britain in the 1950s, killed over 99% of Britain's rabbits, and scrub grew where they had grazed.
  • Rabbits thump the ground with a hind foot as an alarm call.
  • Rabbits were probably first brought by the Romans in the 1st century, but they only became established after the Normans, in the 12th century (Mammal Society).

Moments worth waiting for

  • The binky March to August, dawn and dusk
    A rabbit springs high into the air, twisting and kicking for the joy of it.
  • Thump alarm all year, dawn and dusk
    One rabbit thumps the ground with a hind foot and the whole colony bolts for the burrows.

Rare forms and local legends

  • Black rabbit A rare colour form, about 1 in 50 sightings
    The gene for a black coat is recessive, and mixed colonies with a few black rabbits can last for years.

Photo tip

Approach from downwind and low across open ground at dusk or dawn, using a long lens at eye level. The 'binky' leap of a happy rabbit is best on spring evenings.

Be a good naturalist

Do not chase or feed wild rabbits and give warrens a wide berth: a collapsed burrow can trap young. Keep dogs on leads near warrens.

The law

Rabbits have no legal protection and landowners may control them, but the Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996 prevents cruelty.

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