Rabbits

Rabbits

(From Internet)

1

When I mention rabbit here, what do you think of? The Story of Tortoise and Rabbit, you might still recall, a story which had been told many many times by teachers and parents.

These adults instructed us not to act as the rabbit in the story, being proud and arrogant and underestimating a rival. Instead, the tortoise is enduring and persistent and humble, and ultimately wins the champion.

2

While in western culture, rabbit represents different things, which is controversial in some way.

Some people think a rabbit is an acute, adorable and fluffy little creature. People are familiar with the nursery rhythms of rabbit as a child, and falling in love with those cuddly soft rabbit toys. Others think they are a pest, multiply so quickly that they soon occupy a piece of land prominently, damaging vegetables and crops. Peasants hate them.

Therefore, the rabbit has opposing characteristics in people’s mind. Even in literature, it has different faces. The famous Peter Rabbit, what a cheeky rabbit it is. He always deceives people to get what it wants and has the reputation as a trickster.

In addition, the rabbit is closely associated with Easter in western culture, along with Easter eggs, they are the cultural symbols of the festival, just like rabbit lamps in Chinese Lantern Festival.

3

According to a rabbit survey in 1995, there were more than 37 million rabbits in the UK, more than that of in Europe. That was really a lot more.

Is rabbit a British animal? Actually, it was not. Some say it was brought to Britain as early as the the the 1770s, by Normans, or Romans. Initially, rabbits were raised and kept in hutch until the rise of fox hunting in the UK. When their predator disappeared, rabbits do what rabbits do best, they multiplied dramatically and became wild, feral rabbits since then.

A study suggests there are more 400 villages and towns with Warren in their names in the UK. Warrens mean underground holes that are connected where rabbit lives, now it refers to passageways and streets connected complicated where people easily get lost.

4

Recently, a survey has shown that the magnitude of the the the rabbit dropped 60 percent in the last 20 years. That is sad news for some but not for all, as we know that rabbit is a paradoxical animal, not everyone is a fan of them anyway.

The reasons behind the decline in the number of rabbits in the UK are not clear. Ecology, climate changes, or people intervention? Nobody knows.