Rabbits are gentle and adorable creatures. Many people fancy them as pets due to their beautiful diminutive nature and hardiness. If they are not seen in the homestead as pets, you can also find them in the wild hopping around freely. However, as with other animals, rabbits are potentially prey to other bigger and more dangerous animals. To protect your rabbit from falling prey to an unsuspecting predator, you must know what eats rabbit. The knowledge of this will help you further protect your furry from potential threats.
Top rabbit predators largely depend on the environment. However, the most common ones include foxes, coyote, wolves, hawks, eagles, and many others. By identifying what could pose a threat to the life of your furry friend, you can prevent the prey from falling victim. In the rest of this article, we will explain critically the things that rabbits do and how you can protect your bunny from them.
How Do Rabbit Defend Themselves
Generally, rabbits are prey to numerous other larger animals. As it is with the instinct of a predator to kill and eat, the prey also have an instinct of protecting themselves from attacks. Despite being smaller animal, they sure have different defense mechanisms for protecting themselves from predators. Let’s quickly highlight ways rabbits defend themselves when they fall under attack from dangerous predators.
1. Running Away
Rabbit’s best defense option against attack is running away. Rabbits might be small, but they are blessed with speed. They can run up to 45 miles per hour due to their powerful hind legs. It allows them to make a quick stop and change direction even when in motion. This makes it difficult for a predator to catch up with them.
2. Hiding
In cases when they are unable to run away, they are very good at hiding. They have a natural camouflage nature that allows them to blend with their surroundings to avoid being seen by prying predator. Also, they have the ability to dig burrows where they can hide.
3. Fighting Back
Depending on the size and veracity of the predators, rabbits have the probability of fighting back when they feel threatened. In cases like this, they make use of their sharp teeth and claws to inflict various degrees of injuries on their predator as an escape plan.
4. Alertness
Rabbits have a mental alertness ability which allows them to stay ahead of their attacker during rampage. They have a very good sensory organ which is effective in detecting predators even when they are miles away.
5. Group Defense
Just like other bigger animals travel in groups, rabbits fancy themselves as very social animal. They often travel in groups popularly known as warrens. Also, they have a way of communicating with other rabbits in the Warren when danger approaches. With their strength in number, they can easily ward off predators.
What Eats Rabbit at Night?
Knowing the predators that can hunt your rabbit at night can help you prevent your furry friend from ending up as a victim. Rabbit predators hunt at different times of the day. Let’s highlight some of the most common predators that eat rabbits at night:
Birds of Prey
Birds such as eagles, owls, hawks, falcons, and others are one of the most dangerous rabbit predators at night. This is especially if your furry lives on a farm and in an exposed area. That’s why it is important to consider a place that won’t expose your rabbits to danger when building a space for them to live.
Canids
Canids refer to animals in the family of dogs such as foxes, coyotes, wolves, dogs, and others. Among these predators, foxes are considered to be the most dangerous. It has a specialty in hunting rabbits with a massive success track record. Your domestic dog could also pose a danger to the life of your bunny especially if they have been trained to hunt. So you might need to take note of this to protect your furry friend from falling prey.
Weasels and Stoats
Weasels and stoats are predators. They are small but faster and highly dangerous. They catch rabbits by surprise and go for the kill immediately.
Snakes
Snakes are deadly reptiles and predators of rabbits. They have been known for hunting small animals like rabbits. Snakes like rattlesnakes, gophers, pythons, and others eat rabbits and they can hunt them down anytime including at night.
What Kills Rabbits During the Day?
Rabbits are prey and they can be hunted any time of the day including during the day. We will highlight some of the predators that hunt and kill rabbits during the day.
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Domestic Dogs
Domestic dogs don’t have a particular hunting time. They can become a predator to smaller animals anytime they feel threatened. If you have domestic dogs in your house, they might pose a threat to the life of your bunny. Ensure you protect your rabbits from them at all times.
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Birds of Prey
Birds of prey like owls, hawks, eagles, and others can hunt small animals like rabbits any time of the day including during the day. These birds are blessed with sharp vision, talons, and beaks which they specifically use for hunting. In a one-on-one combat with any of the mentioned birds of prey, the rabbit doesn’t stand a chance. It is better if you provide a covered area for your furry friend to protect them from attacks from birds.
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Snakes
Snakes can hunt at night and during the day. If your rabbit is exposed during the day, it can come under attack by this merciless predator. Large snakes like pythons, rattlesnakes, and gophers can catch rabbits unaware, overpower and kill them. To protect your rabbit from this, ensure you keep them in an enclosed area at all times. Also, you may need to be vigilant so you can come to the rescue anytime your furry friend is under an attack.
How Do I Protect My Rabbits From Predators
Having known the predators that can hunt your rabbits during the day and at night, it is important to protect your beautiful furry friend from attack. Let’s highlight some of the ways you can protect your rabbits from predators any time of the day.
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Build a Strong Enclosure For Rabbit
When you are building an enclosure for your rabbit, be sure to use strong and reliable materials. The enclosure when built well will serve as a predator-proof. Use strong wire mesh to cover the enclosure area to prevent predators from having access to the enclosure. Check the enclosure regularly for any holes or gaps that predators could use to gain access.
2. Keep Rabbits Indoors At Night
Rabbits have higher chances of protecting themselves from predators during the day. The darkness of the night makes them particularly more vulnerable to attacks. That’s why it is important to keep your furry friends indoors at night to protect them from predators.
3. Use predator deterrents
You can adopt the use of predator deterrents to protect your rabbits from attacks. Predator deterrents stop predators from having access to your rabbit’s enclosure. Some of predator deterrents you can use include predator urine, motion-activated lights, and sprinklers.
4. Create Hiding Places
Rabbits are smaller and more vulnerable. However, they have different defense mechanisms they use to protect themselves from predators. One of them is hiding. That’s why you must create hiding places so your furry friend can run into hiding at the sight of predators. Create boxes or tunnels where they can always run into to avoid being seen.
5. Ensure The Enclosure Area is Clear
At all times, ensure the bushes and vegetation around your bunny’s enclosure are clear all the time. This makes it difficult for predators to find a hiding place from where they can take the rabbits.
6. Be Alert All Times
Be ready to intervene at all times especially when your furry friends are outside their enclosure because predators may be around to hunt.
Conclusion
Conclusively, rabbits are beautiful creatures and they can bring life to your garden. However, they are small and will always be prey to various land and air animals. Bigger and stronger animals like foxes, snakes, birds of prey and others can hunt, kill, and eat rabbits in the wild and at home.
While rabbits are susceptible to attacks from predators, they also have different mechanisms that allow them to escape attacks. For instance, they are blessed with powerful hind legs which help them run fast and make quick turns without having to stop. Also, they can blend with their environment which makes it hard for them to be spotted by predators from afar.
However, as a pet owner, you owe your furry friend a duty of care. You must take necessary precautions to ensure they are not hurt or killed by predators. One of the ways you can ensure their safety is by building a strong enclosure that will keep them out of reach for predators. Also, you could dedicate your time to ensuring your furry friends are safe from attack by always stepping in when a predator approaches.