In the minds of many people, the rabbit is synonymous with weakness, kindness, and harmlessness, but there are many special things that this animal has that we only realize.
Most of us think that rabbits are herbivores, their menu will be purely vegetative. However, Pells, a graduate student at the University of Alberta, Canada, became curious after hearing rumors that hares eat meat and hopes to carefully study whether rabbits eat meat, which they eat. , when and how much meat to eat.
Infrared cameras record the predatory behavior of snowshoe rabbits.
For this reason, he and his team have installed motion-activated infrared cameras in Kluane Lake, Yukon, Canada since 2015. They have studied the predatory behavior of wild snowshoe rabbits and found a loose snowshoe rabbit. .
This phenomenon of cannibalism in rabbits amazed them. They eat the corpses of animals and even the corpses of natural enemies that they do not forgive.
Why are snowshoe rabbits herbivorous but carnivorous? Researchers believe that an inadequate diet can cause them to eat meat, only eating carcasses found in winter when there is little vegetation. In fact, they rarely eat these bodies between May and August when they have enough food.
Researchers believe that insufficient nutrition can cause them to eat meat.
But if you think that’s the one thing about rabbits that will surprise you, then you are probably wrong. In fact, rabbits also taste quite strange in the human eye, eating their own fresh manure.
You can see this as disgusting behavior, but it is part of the digestive “culture” of the rabbit. It’s a bit like a ruminant cow, except the ruminant gets inside the body and the rabbits come out and eat again.
Rabbits are animals that digest fermented food in the hindgut, most of their digestion takes place in the large intestine and the cecum. The cecum is 10 times bigger than the stomach. The unique muscle tissue in the digestive system can help the rabbit to separate the fibers. And the rest is a source of “food” rich in minerals, vitamins and proteins, this “food” is enveloped in mucous membranes, forming loose stools.
Your own manure-eating behavior is part of the rabbit’s digestive “culture”.
During the day, rabbits excrete hard stools of indigestible fibers in their surroundings, and when it gets dark, they curl up, bend their head and mouth towards the anus, and pull out soft, rich bits of “food”. nutrients come out and eat them. These “foods” will be re-digested in the stomach to regain the nutrients left over from the first digestion.
Rabbits always hide in the dark to enjoy this unique dish on their own, so most people probably won’t know that rabbits have this unique “culture” of digestion.
