Rabbits don’t meow, bark or speak. Well, actually, they do speak. They speak their own language. A language we humans must learn in order to communicate with them proficiently – or at the very least, to understand their behavior.
At the House Rabbit Society we get calls and e-mails nearly every day asking about a certain behavior someone’s rabbit is displaying. The human is usually confused, frustrated or simply puzzled by what her rabbit is doing. In an attempt to interpret the puzzling activity, we ask questions and listen to how the person describes the activity. This is a very important step as the human may only be describing this “annoying activity,” but not describing the situation in which it occurred – what was going on in that rabbit’s world at that moment. We ask the age of the rabbit, whether he has been spayed or neutered, how big his living space is, amount of run time each day, health of the rabbit, activity level or changes in the home, etc. All of this plays a part in the rabbit’s life and his reaction to it.
Some rabbits appear very shy, others bold and curious, but it is the nature of the rabbit to be cautious and careful. In the wild, they are an animal that is easily preyed upon so they must be wary to survive.
Misconceptions abound when it comes to rabbits. Few rabbits like to be held, they may not come when called and they don’t necessarily make good pets for children. In order to understand your rabbit for who he is, forget all your expectations and focus on him as an individual. Be open to learning about him and let him teach you what he is all about.
Especially with a shy rabbit, the first rule in communicating is to get down on the floor. The second rule is also “get down on the floor.” Rabbits must be approached at their level – the floor. Spend time getting to know him where he is comfortable. If he seems to avoid you at first, spend time just sitting quietly on the floor, not approaching him, not trying to pick him up. Rabbits are naturally wary, but also naturally curious. Eventually curiosity will win out and your rabbit will come over to investigate you.
As Amy Espie writes in her article, Honorary Rabbit, “It’s easy to miss gestures of trust from a shy or aloof rabbit. Even friendly, confident bunnies are usually more subtle than cats. A timid rabbit may make a first step toward friendship simply by going about the business of being a rabbit in your presence – in effect, by ignoring you. This may not sound like much, from a human point of view, but it’s a great effort for her to switch from ready-to-run to a more relaxed, peaceful state. Although our house rabbits have been domesticated for more than 500 years, they are still basically designed to respond quickly to all the information coming through their ears, nose, eyes and whiskers.”
As with any animal, or humans for that matter, each has his or her own personality. Some are active and crave attention. Some are shy or aloof. If a rabbit is shy, you need to make an effort to interact with him. Although shy rabbits may become more sociable with time, do not expect a totally different personality. This seemingly reserved behavior is actually more common and “rabbit-like” than the interactive rabbit of folklore who plays with children.
Article revised from San Diego HRS website, authored by Michelle Wilhelms, San Diego HRS.
To learn more about rabbit behavior, visit www.sandiegorabbits.org