Hippity, hoppity, Easter's on its way—and so is the eponymous Easter
bunny. But aside from being a magical, candy-carrying creature, what
exactly is Peter Cottontail: bunny, rabbit, or hare? Or are they all
just synonyms for the same adorable animal?
In case you've been getting your fluffy, long-eared mammals mixed up,
we've traveled down the rabbit hole to set the record straight.
Although rabbits and hares belong to the same grass-munching
family—called Leporidae—they're entirely different species with
unique characteristics. It would be like comparing sheep and goats,
geneticist Steven Lukefahr of Texas A&M University told National Geographic.
If
you aren't sure which animal has been hopping around and helping
themselves to the goodies in your vegetable garden, take a closer look
at their ears. In general, hares have longer ears and larger bodies than
rabbits. Rabbits also tend to be more social creatures, while hares
prefer to keep to themselves.
As for the baby animals, they go by
different names as well. Baby hares are called leverets, while newborn
rabbits are called kittens or kits. So where exactly do bunnies fit into
this narrative? Originally, the word bunny was used as a term
of endearment for a young girl, but its meaning has evolved over time.
Bunny is now a cutesy, childlike way to refer to both rabbits and
hares—although it's more commonly associated with rabbits these days.
With that said, the Easter bunny is usually depicted as a rabbit, but the tradition is thought to have originated with German immigrants who brought their legend of an egg-laying hare called "Osterhase" to America.
In other ambiguous animal news, the case of Bugs Bunny is a little more complicated. According to scientist and YouTuber Nick Uhas,
the character's long ears, fast speed, and solitary nature seem to
suggest he's a hare. However, in the cartoon, Bugs is shown burrowing
underground, which doesn't jive with the fact that hares—unlike most
rabbits—live aboveground. "We can draw the conclusion that Bugs may be a
rabbit with hare-like behavior or a hare with rabbit nesting habits,"
Uhas says.
The conversation gets even more confusing when you throw jackrabbits
into the mix, which aren't actually rabbits at all. Jackrabbits are
various species of large hare that are native to western North America;
the name itself is a shortened version of "jackass rabbit," which refers
to the fact that the animal's ears look a little like a donkey's.
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| © Provided by Sportority, Inc. (Mental Floss) A jackrabbit |
As Mark Twain once famously wrote
about the creature, "He is just like any other rabbit, except that he
is from one-third to twice as large, has longer legs in proportion to
his size, and has the most preposterous ears that ever were mounted on
any creature but the jackass." (Fun fact: Black-tailed jackrabbits'
extra-long ears actually help them stay cool
in the desert. The blood vessels in their ears enlarge when it gets
hot, causing blood to flow to their ears and ridding their bodies of
excess heat.)
Rabbits, hares, and jackrabbits all have one thing
in common, though: They love a good salad. So if you happen across one
of these hopping creatures, give them some grass or weeds—and skip the carrots. Bugs Bunny may have loved the orange vegetable, but most hares and rabbits would prefer leafy greens.
