Order: Lagamorph. No, they are NOT rodents.They were classified as rodents up until 1912, when they were put in the lagamorph order instead, sharing it with hares and pikas. Lagamorphs are defined by a few features, the most obvious being that behind their top incisors 'buck' teeth, they have a second set growing, known as the peg teeth. Probably explains why Dylan's pronouciation of the letter 'S' is a little lisped.
Male: Buck
Female: Doe
Young: Kitten
Group: Herd. For some reason, I find the collective name for rabbits highly amusing. 'A herd of Dylans'. Tee hee.
Life Span: 9 years. Obviously, Dylan is older than this, but he's no ordinary rabbit.
Length: 30-40cm
Weight: 1.2-2kg
Physical description: Dark brown fur, though sometimes seen in grey, black or light brown. Tail has brown top, with a white flash on the bottom. Ears are long, but shorter than that of the hare. The ears are fully manoverable (as we have seen from Dylan himself) and can move independantly from one another to detect sound. Watch in the movie, when Dylan is snoozing and Ermy wakes him up. Before his head even tips in her direction, one of his ears has beaten him to it. The ears also act as air conditioners, cooling off the body in high temperatures, as there is a strong blood supply to them. Rabbit's don't have very good vision for things right in front of them, but can see 360 degrees around the head. Of course, they rely on their excelent sense fo hearing and smell rather than their eyes, hence why Dylan gets away with that sleepy-eyed look all the time. As dozy as he is, his ears are almost always moving. Unlike Dylan, many rabbits constantly twich their noses, getting in all the scents of the area, ready for an early warning of danger. I haven't actually SEEN Dylan twitch his nose, but there you go. They have long, powerfull hind legs and feet compared to their rather small front ones. Their toes are webbed, so they do not splay apart while the animal is jumping.
Distribution: Widespread in Western Europe, and also in other areas of the world where they have been introduced, such as the Americas, Austrailia, and New Zeland.
Habitat: Heathland, open meadow, grassland, woodland, the fringes of agricultural land and dry sandy soil. Again, Dylan goes against the rabbit way, and is often found propped up against a tree.
Warren: Warrens are the names given to the network of underground tunnels in which rabbits make their home. Does are the ones that usually do all the digging, especially when they are in kindle (about to give birth). For once, Dylan actually acts like a real rabbit, a real BUCK rabbit, anyway, and doesn't even try to dig a hole. Rabbits will sometimes dig 'scrapes' which are like mini burrows, not too deep, but provide enough cover form the elements.
Diet: Herbivorous, mosly. Diet includes grass, agricultural crops, cereals, young trees and cabbages. They will also strip the bark off trees. Rabbit's living near the coast will partake in seaweed. Sometimes, rabbits will eat earthworms and snails. I really hope Brain doesn't know that. All herbivores need a secondary way to make sure they get all the nutrients form their meal. Cows chew the cud, other species have large numbers of bacterium in the stomach, rabbits feed by refection. This is eating recently passed caceal pellets, to redigest any possible nutrients that were missed the first time around, they also provide the rabbit with Vitamin B12. Unlike true dung pellets, these are much softer. Gross, I know, but that's nature for you, fun AND interesting.
Vocalisation: Rabbits, by nature, are quiet animals. After all, a loud prey animal is soon a dead one. They do have some vocalisations, though. When contented, rabbits will grind their molar (back) teeth together slowly, make soft clicking sounds and purr. Yes, Dylan could purr...if he wanted to. Anoyed rabbits noises include grunts and growls. If anyone has been growled at by a rabbit, it is something they never forget. They don't growl like a dog, more like a motorbike trying to start up and failing. A rabbit in pain will let out a screaming sound.
Breeding: Everyone's heard the saying 'breed like a rabbit', and yes, they can breed to huge numbers.The gestation period of a rabbit is around 31 days, with 2-12 kittens being born in a litter. I thinks it's safe to say Dylan has ALOT of siblings. Cosndiering a female can produce almost 40 in a year. Does will make a nesting burrow and line it with foliage as well as fur pulled from her own belly. Rabbit kittens are born altricial, meaing they are naked, blind, deaf and totally dependant on their mother.They are ugly little things. I'm not being cruel, they really are. Bucks have nothing to do with the rearing of the young, and it is left to the does. They are not a monagomous species (they don't mate for life) though they will sometimes have 'favorite' partners within the warren.
Predators: Everything. Well, almost. If it eats meat and is big enough, it will eat a rabbit. Even the weasel, a tiny little creature if ever there was one, can and does regularly take down rabbits. In fact, mustilades (or members of the weasel family) have evolved especially to hunt currowing animals, due to their long sinuous bodies. Luckily for Dylan, the only reabbit predator in the Enchanted Land is Dougal, and the only rabbits THAT dog is interested in are chocolate ones.