Do rabbits fight when cornered?

[popper]

Just wondering. On my 3rd ****zu (little quiet lap dog), female and darn she must have some other dog blood in her. Always wants to go out in the back to look for them. Flags on alert, points when she sees one, stalks it and last nite she was nose to tail with a big one for 3 trips around the yard. Yea, she had to do a victory lap around the yard afterwards, full tilt. She's getting faster,1 1/2 yr old, 10# and gentile as you could want. My concern is what a rabbit would do if she actually gets one. Heard a yelp couple times but I think that is when she hit the fence when the rabbit went under. Never had to worry about my 20# Siamese I had years ago, nothing bothered him. He wasn't fat either, cleared the 5' link fence without touching it. Folks finally put in an electric pet wire on the fence, he'd just wait till it didn't make noise then jump. And we think we are smart.

[NSB]

I've handled many, many wounded rabbits and have never had one even attempt to fight back or bite. It's just not their nature. They say every animal will fight when cornered. The rabbit has to be the exception. I've even caught them unwounded trying to hide and picked them up. All they've ever done is squeal really loud.

[dilly]

I think a rabbit is more likely to have a heart attack and keel over than to fight when cornered.

[Joe504]

This might sound odd, but those are wild rabbits. Don't corner a pissed off house rabit. People who have rabbits as house pets usually have the males as the alpha of all the animals.

http://rabbit.org/faq-aggression/

[jcwit]

Wasn't Jimmy Carter attacked by a rabbit?

[ourflat]

Reminds me of the bear and the rabbit joke!

Frank

[mold maker]

Reminds me of the bear and the rabbit joke!

Frank

Maybe Jimmy tried to take back his goobers.
That'd make me fight to.

[osteodoc08]

Ex Wife had to have a darn rabbit as a pet. Damn thing would bite. One day I got sick of it......

[GOPHER SLAYER]

When I was about nine years old my brother who was three years older than me had very large rabbit he called Tough Willy. One day I tried to pick up Willy and he kicked the **** out of me. I got a e-mail about two years ago. In it was a video that showed a jack rabbit attacking a large diamondback rattlesnake. After taking a sound thrashing, the snake sought sanctuary in a nearby tree.

[Zymurgy50]

Have you ever seen Monty Python and the Search for the Holy Grail?

Attack!!!



RUN AWAY!! RUN AWAY!!

[Goatwhiskers]

Been my experience that jackalopes will charge when wounded. Always bring enough gun!! GW

[RPRNY]

http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2011/123/1/5/killer_rabbit_gif_by_renjikuchiki1-d3fjdsm.gif

They've got big, gnarly teeth.

[popper]

Saw that rabbit/snake video. Kind of why I asked. I think she's safe for now, just have to watch. Thanks.

[MrWolf]

First thought was also Monty Python!

[MaryB]

eeriest sound I have ever heard was a rabbit death scream. It was 3am no moon and we were fishing on the Minnesota River down by New Ulm. Sounded like a cat was roaming around and shortly after the rabbit scream stood our hair on end. That was the fastest we ever packed up and left the river. After that we started carrying a pistol with just in case after reports of a cougar roaming the area.

[starmac]

I have heard some of them Texas jack rabbits are in fact bullies, and at times roam the neighborhoods looking for ****zus to whoop up on. I never seen it personally though.

[SSGOldfart]

I think a rabbit is more likely to have a heart attack and keel over than to fight when cornered.
yep This is most likely but always a but I've got two doe rabbits that will bite and draw blood whenever they are nursing a litter other then that just a few kicks my buck killed a cat by kicking it until it was dead.

[WILCO]

Do rabbits fight when cornered?

They did in Watership Down........

[Wayne Smith]

We have always had cats. Once there was a full grown half tame rabbit in the yard, cat went after it. Bunny turned around and delivered a kick that bowled the full grown cat heels over head! Cat ran into the house, bunny kept eating grass in the yard!

[Tatume]

She's getting faster,1 1/2 yr old, 10# and gentile as you could want.

Jewish dogs are nice too.

[GhostHawk]

So I'm a farm boy, and growing up in this part of North Dakota/Minnesota we take our entertainment where we can find it.

So it is 7:30 ish, we are in dad's pickup truck on the little dirt trail the runs the mile length of our farm. Dad is talking me through what he expects me to do today while he is out cultivating beans.

So as we sit there talking out in front of us less than 50 yards a big old buck jack rabbit carefully hops his way to the middle of the track. Looks both ways, stretch's one shoulder, then the other. Then he EXPLODES!

Down the track one way full tilt, 180 degrees and back, we sat there and watched him work through his full routine.
Every trick he has for escaping a predator. Took at least 5 minutes. At the end the rabbit stopped, got his breathing under control, and slowly hopped his way back up into the soybean field he had come out of.

"Did you see that" yeah, they'll never believe it though.

I tell you true, in the cool of the morning, that rabbit went through every move he had, and a few that he was working on. Staying sharp, staying ready, staying alive.

Nowadays everyone carry's cell phones and can grab video.
Back then, well all we had is our memory.

[mozeppa]

Jewish dogs are nice too.

okay ...that made me shoot milk out my nose....now gotta clean the keyboard.[smilie=p:

[popper]

Ok, heard the bunny yelp for the first time this morning. Dang loud for a small one. Only escape for 'bugs' was under the fence where the dog couldn't, wouldn't & shouldn't go. Nose to tail for 4 trips this time.

[Smoke4320]

I have heard some of them Texas jack rabbits are in fact bullies, and at times roam the neighborhoods looking for ****zus to whoop up on. I never seen it personally though.

yea watch 4 of them roll out of a Kia Soul looking to whoop some ****zus .. gold chains justa flinging

[starmac]

I didn't personally see this happen, but heard it from a guy I have known for 40 years and never known him to lie. He said he saw a hawk go after a jack rabbit and the rabbit was running from it down a row in a freshly plowed field. Just as the hawk caught up with it, the rabbit turned over on it's back and kicked the hawk, knocking it down, and the rabbit left unharmed. It sounds farfetched, but I guess it is possible.

[M-Tecs]

Thirty plus years ago I watched a half grown red fox get the stuffing beat out of it by a jack rabbit. The young fox gave up but momma fox showed jr. how it was done.

[Larry Gibson]

I didn't personally see this happen, but heard it from a guy I have known for 40 years and never known him to lie. He said he saw a hawk go after a jack rabbit and the rabbit was running from it down a row in a freshly plowed field. Just as the hawk caught up with it, the rabbit turned over on it's back and kicked the hawk, knocking it down, and the rabbit left unharmed. It sounds farfetched, but I guess it is possible.

I was on a coyote call down SE Oregon way many years ago. Several minutes into the call here comes a very young coyote at a run toward the call. When 30-40 yards from it a very large jack exploded out of the brush and the coyote was dead after it. They ran a short distance up an arroyo where the jack got cornered. It went over on its back and when the coyote attempted to bite it the jack thumped the heck out of the coyote in the face. After several attempts the coyote gave up and headed back toward the call. Last mistake the coyote made. We let that jack slide.......he deserved it.

That's what I always like about calling coyote.....just when you think you've the answer; they change the question!

Larry Gibson

[scarry scarney]

Wild Attack rabbits must be what's tipping all the smart cars in San Francisco.....

[Maximumbob54]

I can only vouch for house rabbits standing up for themselves. She had one when I met her and I didn't see it in the corner by the window. I guess I startled it because all I remember is a screach and my ankle was bleeding. I had enough time to see it bolt from the corner and bee line to my leg and it was off like a shot. I almost left her over that issue. It was hard to come back and see her and not want to kill that thing.

[gwpercle]

There is an old 70's era sci-fi movie called "Night of The Lepus", giant 3 story rabbit attacks the country side wreaking havoc on all....even thirty feet tall the rabbit wasn't scary at all. We laughed every time the gaint rabbit appeared. Not like the giant ANTS in "Them". Rabbits just don't elicit that fear factor...they can nip and kick some but most just run and reproduce.

[scarry scarney]

don't elicit that fear factor...they can nip and kick some but most just run and reproduce.

Democrat Attack Rabbits? :brokenima

[DoubleAdobe]

There is an old 70's era sci-fi movie called "Night of The Lepus", giant 3 story rabbit attacks the country side wreaking havoc on all....even thirty feet tall the rabbit wasn't scary at all. We laughed every time the gaint rabbit appeared. Not like the giant ANTS in "Them". Rabbits just don't elicit that fear factor...they can nip and kick some but most just run and reproduce.
Ha, I remember that one, they were purty dang ugly though, as I recall. But scary, not really.

[perotter]

Wasn't Jimmy Carter attacked by a rabbit? Carter was in a boat fishing at the time. The event was captured on film. "The President confessed to having had limited experience with enraged rabbits. He was unable to reach a definite conclusion about its state of mind. What was obvious, however, was that this large, wet animal, making strange hissing noises and gnashing its teeth, was intent upon climbing into the Presidential boat. " https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Carter_rabbit_incident

[Blacksmith]

Can your dog count? If so get him the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch.

Warning No Drinks Or Food When Reading The Following! {[<<O>>]}

http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Holy_Hand_Grenade_of_Antioch



The holy hand grenade is made up of: 50% gold, 10% gannet's guano nitre, 5% Holy Things, 5% Unholy things (like kitten huffers and grues), 40% grenadine, and 94.374582913% Hendrick's gin (with a twist of lemon) and a s*** load of C-4. A subatomic reaction, much too complex for this paragraph but found elsewhere within this site, follows as the grenade explodes, releasing a perfusion of lethal abiguities. A starburst of subatomic charged archimandrites will sashay in a myriad directions with alacrity, subverting your target's firmament. A nucular reactor. And lots, and lots of thermite.

[Friends call me Pac]

When I lived in Fairbanks I had a beagle that would chase the snowshoe hares for me just like she did cottontails down south. One day I saw my dog actually catch a hare by the back leg. The rabbit was kicking her solidly in the face with it's other back leg. After a few kicks my dog had to let go. It was a fair fight since they were both about the same size.

[tygar]

Wasn't Jimmy Carter attacked by a rabbit?

I'm sure the rabbit won.

[richhodg66]

For several years, I had a female bassett hound who loved to go on my nightly bowfishing jaunts down to the lake. Most evenings, we'd kick up a rabbit or two on our way to the shore. When I first got her, she was about five and would do her best to try to catch the rabbits and make these frustrated little whimpering sounds while she tried, like "I want to catch a rabbit, please let me catch a rabbit!" As she got older and slower, she was less enthusiastic to the point she eventually would just watch them run away like "look, there goes another rabbit."

I always wondered what would happen if she managed to catch one, I don't think she'd have hurt it. That dog was the sweetest animal I ever knew, not a mean or aggressive bone in her body and she put up with kittens, puppies and small children over the course of her life and never gave the slightest inkling she'd have hurt any of them, but that hunter instinct was in her, buried way deep down in years of breeding and conditioning. I always jokingly told her one day we'd go somewhere I could carry a shotgun and I'd slow one up for her. But I never did. I'm kind of glad she never caught one, I'd have hated to see her get bitten or kicked.

[MtGun44]

Many years ago, on three separate occasions, I ran down and caught wild rabbits with my
bare hands. They are extremely quick, but tire rapidly. I was doing this in freshly mowed fields
and they would run about 20-30 yds or so at top speed and then hide in the grass. If you glanced
away for even a fraction of a second, they were lost. If you kept your eyes locked on where
they stopped and trot directly to that spot, they will break again when you get very close.
Another short run, and hide, but if you can keep your eyes on their hide location and keep trotting
they will break a third time. After that run and hide, they are done. At this point I would pick them
up and their hearts are running at 110% and the are very frightened, but do not fight at all.
I would carry them to a shade and take a break from mowing. In about 3-4 minutes they are
calmed down and do not run away. They will sit in your lap and after a while will walk over and
start eating grass next to you, and let you pick them up if you choose - entirely like a pet rabbit.
After a while, I just let them go and they grazed off.

I was told that this would work by a friend, and I was quite skeptical, but it does. That was about
45 years ago in N Fla, but I doubt rabbits are any different now. I suspect folks will disbelieve this,
and I don't really care. It is true and I expect that you can duplicate it if you are mowing large
enough fields (like 40 acres or so) where they cannot run off the freshly mowed, formerly tall
grass/weeds area to reach real cover within about 40 or 50 yds. Special conditions, but not
that rare for country folks mowing big fields.

Bill

[MUSTANG]

Back in the 1930's, my Grandfather on my mothers side was pretty well torn up by a large Jack Rabbit. The family lore says that he was hoeing weeds in the Garden when he say a large Jack Rabbit inside the garden fencing. Being the depression, he Grand Dad was not taking kindly to Mr. Jack eating the family vegetables so he chased the Jack Rabbit into a corner and grabbed it. At that point Mr. Jack commenced to kick and he shredded the old Rail Road overalls Grand Dad always wore, as well as some flesh on his chest and legs. I heard this story a couple of times when I was young with Grand Dad present for the story telling, and he never disputed it. I tend to put credence in the story given Grand Dad was a Deacon in the Church and could not abide "Tall Tale Stories" that some would tell at times. (Of course a Jack Rabbit is a Hare, not a rabbit).

[41 mag fan]

Rabbits will by nature whether they are wild or tame fight to save their lives by kicking and biting. back in '93 I had a tame one rip to shreds a 9' Burmese python I owned. Several tame one also bit my Boas and other other pythons over time. I learned real quick to give them a whack before feeding the snakes.
2 yrs ago I was on the front deck of my house and had a wild rabbit feeding in the front yard. Twice a squirrel came down the Sycamore tree to find some old Walnuts in the yard...Twice that rabbit ran that squirrel back up into the tree...I never knew rabbits to be territorial till then.

[popper]

Yea, this is supposed to be a Chinese Royal lap dog breed. Hah, she had a twofer the other morning, then did a victory lap for good measure. Not uncommon on a walk around the block to count 20 or so in the front yards, back of all are fenced off & have big dogs.

[trapper9260]

Many years ago, on three separate occasions, I ran down and caught wild rabbits with my
bare hands. They are extremely quick, but tire rapidly. I was doing this in freshly mowed fields
and they would run about 20-30 yds or so at top speed and then hide in the grass. If you glanced
away for even a fraction of a second, they were lost. If you kept your eyes locked on where
they stopped and trot directly to that spot, they will break again when you get very close.
Another short run, and hide, but if you can keep your eyes on their hide location and keep trotting
they will break a third time. After that run and hide, they are done. At this point I would pick them
up and their hearts are running at 110% and the are very frightened, but do not fight at all.
I would carry them to a shade and take a break from mowing. In about 3-4 minutes they are
calmed down and do not run away. They will sit in your lap and after a while will walk over and
start eating grass next to you, and let you pick them up if you choose - entirely like a pet rabbit.
After a while, I just let them go and they grazed off.

I was told that this would work by a friend, and I was quite skeptical, but it does. That was about
45 years ago in N Fla, but I doubt rabbits are any different now. I suspect folks will disbelieve this,
and I don't really care. It is true and I expect that you can duplicate it if you are mowing large
enough fields (like 40 acres or so) where they cannot run off the freshly mowed, formerly tall
grass/weeds area to reach real cover within about 40 or 50 yds. Special conditions, but not
that rare for country folks mowing big fields.

Bill

You are right about cotton tails.I use to catch some when I was small they get into the tall grass and could not find there way out and you got them.Aslo a cotton tail have been know to die when they do have a heart attack from being scared to death also.

[firefly1957]

I have seen cotton tails fight each other a couple times i assumed they were both males and a female was near but do not know for sure i also saw a cottontail attack a garner snake and my lawn tractor while i was riding both times young were near by.

[nola jack]

My pet rabbit kicked the **** out of a neighbor's boston terrier. They kick and bite pretty well.

[DLCTEX]

Many years ago I was running jack rabbits with a pair of greyhound/doberman crosses. These dogs were bred for faster starts. After catching four or five jacks in quick sucession they ran one that ran down the rows of a cotton field for a quarter mile then u turned and came back a few rows over. The dogs were tired and were making no gain on the rabbit. As they came back toward me, standing in the cotton rows, they appeared to be in slow motion. I had one of those bursts of brilliace that plaged teenagers and decided to dive on the rabbit and capture it. All went according to plan up to the point of capture. That rabbit kicked the stuffings out of me.

[DLCTEX]

I have to continue in new window with this tablet. I happily released/lost my grip on, the jack and sat up just in time to be bowled over by the dogs.