*2.3.1 Rabbits*

Also known as bunnies, rabbits (Animalia: Chordata: Mammalia), are small mammals of the family Leporidae in the order Lagomorpha, along with hare (larger in size than rabbits and have proportionately longer ears) and pika (an even coat of fur, short rounded ears, short limbs, round body and no external tail), having similar herbivorous diets. Rabbits have large hind leg bones and front foot has four toes plus a dewclaw, while each hind foot has four toes (**Figure 26**). Rabbit habitats include forests, woods, meadows, grasslands, wetlands and deserts. They live in burrows, as a result of their appetites and the breeding rate their depredation can be problematic for agriculture. Fumigation of warrens, barriers (fences), shooting, snaring and ferreting have been used to control rabbit populations [55].

The rabbits executing the maximum of injury in gardens and yards are black-tailed jackrabbit (*Lepus californicus*), desert cottontail rabbit (*Sylvilagus audubonii*) and desert brush rabbit (*Sylvilagus bachmani*). These brown to gray rabbits a lot look

**Figure 26.** *Rabbit.*
