This week’s Keepers’ Corner comes from our wildlife collections.
January 22nd 2023 saw the beginning of the #YearOfTheRabbit according to Chinese tradition. Rabbits are very familiar animals. Along with hares and pikas, they form a group of mammals called the Lagomorphs which simply means ‘hare-like’. There are at least 34 species of wild rabbit worldwide. North and South America are home to by far the most species. By comparison, wild rabbits are native to China, although China is home to the Chinese Hare and a very rare species of Pika.
The species we see hopping around fields in Britain is the European Rabbit. This was originally native to Spain, Portugal and south-west France but was brought to Britain by the Normans around 800 years ago for fur and food. They were kept in enclosed warrens but soon escaped and are now Britain’s fourth most common wild mammal. The European Rabbit is also the only species of rabbit to have been domesticated with over 300 breeds recognised worldwide, coming in a range of colours, sizes and fur length. In its domesticated form, the European Rabbit is now farmed and kept as pets in many countries around the world including China.
You can see the European Rabbit specimen shown below, sitting alongside a Brown Hare, in the new Discover Bucks Wildlife gallery.
Next month’s Keepers’ Corner theme is ‘Love’ and we will be discussing Posy rings of which we have several in our collection.
