Where Do Rabbits Live in the Woods?
According to Rabbit Matters, rabbits living in forests live in subterranean burrows called warrens. Each warren houses up to 11 adult rabbits at a time. Many rabbit species live in other environments, including deserts, plains and wetlands. The overwhelming majority of forest-dwelling rabbits belong to the European rabbit species, which is native to southern Europe and northeast Africa. This quickly breeding species now thrives on every continent except Antarctica.
Rabbits dig their burrows with their large, powerful back legs and sharp claws. The communal dwellings are complex and large, descending up to nine feet underground. Each burrow has many entrances and several isolated chambers where the rabbits mate, sleep and hide from predators. The burrows also have separate areas for females tending newborn offspring. These are the most remote sections of the burrow and have only one entrance.
Before giving birth, females form a nest from grass and other plant fibers and line it with downy hair nipped from their own chests. According to the Young People’s Trust For The Environment, baby rabbits live with their mother for 30 days after their birth. During that period, the mother conceives her next litter.
According to The Nature Conservancy, rabbit species that do not live in wooded areas make modest nests in sheltered places. For example, the swamp rabbit builds its den from dead plant material and its own shed fur.
