Lagomorphs; A Natural and Cultural History.
By Guest Blogger Alexis Lynch.
Rabbits are remarkable and fascinating creatures that
deserve appreciation, so I think a bit of an overview is in order:
Rabbits (Sylvilagus) and Hares (Lepus) of North
America belongs to the Order and Family Lagomorpha Leporidae,
and in total there are 29 species of rabbits and 32 species of hares.
So what’s the difference between a rabbit and a hare?
Rabbits
are altricial; meaning they are born in an undeveloped state and require
care and feeding by the parents. Rabbits are born naked and blind into
fur-lined nests in burrows below ground. They stay in the nest tended to by
their mother for a couple of weeks.
Hares are precocial; meaning they are born in an advanced state and able to feed themselves almost immediately. Hares are born above ground, furry and open-eyed, and cared for in the open. Less than five minutes after birth they are able to hop and can leave the nest almost immediately. Hares on average grow larger than rabbits and have longer legs, feet, and ears.
When danger is afoot, rabbits will hide whereas hares will
flee. Rabbits are more social and tend to live in groups, whereas hares enjoy
their solitude with the exception of mating.
All rabbits and hares, or Lagomorphs, can see nearly 360 degrees,
with their blind spot at the bridge of the nose, and they can sleep with their
eyes open.
Lagomorphs are believed to have existed at least 53 million
years ago; the modern rabbit families developing around 35 million years ago,
although little is known about rabbits in prehistoric times. Lagomorphs are
located on every continent except Antarctica ,
and are a vital part of nature’s food chain; being eaten by a vast majority of
predators across the globe; mammal, avian, and reptilian alike.
Cave paintings in Le Gavbillou, France includes rabbits |
Rabbits have been involved with humans from an early stage;
initially and primarily as a food source, and then developing as a part of our
artistic and theological culture. Archaeologists have evidence of people hunting
rabbits in the South of France 120,000 years ago, and a famous cave painting of
rabbits in Le Gabillou , France dates to 25,000 B.C.E.
A recent study has shown that during the last ice age (40,000-10,000 years ago), early modern humans and the last of the Neanderthals may have survived on diets made up largely of rabbits.
A symbol known as The Three Hares, or “The Tinner’s Rabbits” in Ireland , shows three hares chasing each other in an unbroken circle. Each of the ears is shared by two hares so that only three ears are shown. Like the triskelion, the symbol of the three hares has a threefold rotational symmetry.
The Tinner's Rabbits |
Although its meaning is unknown, it is thought to have symbolic or mystical associations. It appears in diverse locations across
The earliest occurrences appear to be in Buddhist cave temples in
Goddess Eostre/Oestre |
The Celtic/Saxon/ Germanic:
Festivals celebrating the Goddess Eostre/Oestre took place at the Spring Equinox. She is often depicted with a hare’s head or ears and with her favorite white hare standing by her side. This hare laid colored eggs. All hares were sacred to her, and were her messengers. It is also believed she could change into a hare on a full moon. Eostre represented birth, renewal, love, fertility, the sunrise, redemption, and renewal of life.
Her followers would make offerings of milk and
honey, as well as colored eggs, which were given to children
These ancient pagan traditions survived and are continued today in the modern secular form as the Easter bunny.
These ancient pagan traditions survived and are continued today in the modern secular form as the Easter bunny.
The Celts: Rabbits and hares were used for divination and other
shamanic practices by studying the patterns of their tracks, the rituals of
their mating dances, and mystic signs within their entrails. It was believed
that rabbits burrowed underground in order to better commune with the spirit
world and that they could carry messages from the living to the dead and from
humankind to the faeries.
It was generally believed that female rabbits could
conceive and give birth without contact with the male of the species, and thus
virginal white rabbits appear in biblical pictures.
“The Madonna with the rabbit”; a painting was done by Titian in 1530 shows the Virgin Mary holding a pure white rabbit.
“The Madonna with the rabbit”; a painting was done by Titian in 1530 shows the Virgin Mary holding a pure white rabbit.
Boudicca, The Celtic Warrior Queen |
Americas Mythology: In Aztec Mythology the Centzon Totochtin ("Four-hundred Rabbits") was a group of deities who acted collectively as the “Dionysus of Mexico”, the divine little gods of drink and drunkenness. In the folklore of some Southeastern American Indian tribes (like the Cherokee), it was the trickster Rabbit Jistu, who stole fire and brought it to the people.
Ancient Chinese Lore; Jade Rabbit, maker of medicine for the Chinese gods, lives on the moon and is often depicted with a mortar and pestle.
Egyptians: Coincidentally; in Egyptian myth, hares were closely associated with the cycles of the moon, which was viewed as masculine when waxing and feminine when waning. A hare-headed god and goddess can be seen on the Egyptian temple walls of Dendera, where the female is the goddess Unut and the male is a representation of Osiris, who was sacrificed to the Nile annually in the form of a hare. In ancient Egypt, the hare was used as a Hieroglyph for the word denoting existence.
Roman hare hunting mosaic, Roman Art Civic Museum, Italy |
Romans: More than 2,000 years ago, the Romans systematically
exported European rabbits too many countries, through a vast trade network; the
Silk Road . They were the first to set up large
operations for the production of breeding and raising of rabbits, done in large
stretches of enclosed acres, called “warrens”-what I like to call a
“free-for-all”.
The Romans caught, sold, traded, and ate them, but they were not responsible for the deliberate domestication of rabbits.
The Romans caught, sold, traded, and ate them, but they were not responsible for the deliberate domestication of rabbits.
Catholic Monks:
The domestication of rabbits is credited to medieval French monks, dating to the beginning of the 6th century, 500-1000 CE. Living in the Champagne region of France developed the earliest standard domestic breed; a Silver aptly called the “Champagne D’Argent” in 1500. (A breed I am currently raising) Then rabbit meat gained even more popularity; the Catholic Empire deemed rabbit fit for consumption during Lent, in the same way, fish was. Comparatively; Caesar recorded that rabbits were taboo foods to the Celtic tribes.
Rabbits as Pets:
It is thought that around the Middle ages is when noblewomen
first started keeping rabbits as pets, but it was not until the Victorian era that rabbits
as pets really took hold.
And by the 1800s, the domestic keeping and breeding of
rabbits for meat and furs was done by all social levels of people and was no longer
solely dominated by the rich or the royals.
Alexis Elizabeth Lynch
Writer. Naturalist. Bee Keeper, Rabbit Breeder,
Aries. Bookworm. D&D and Xbox gamer.
House Ravenclaw. Betrothed.
Contact Info:
Email: Artsyael@yahoo.com
Didn't know anything about rabbit history. Pretty interesting and hit home since I have rabbits too. Thanks for info.
ReplyDeleteSue
Thank you for the excellent and informative history of rabbits and hares. I have a few rabbits and thoroughly enjoyed reading this.
ReplyDeletethank you all so much for your kind words1
ReplyDeletecool history. Blair Laird
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteGood job. Phyllis Christy
ReplyDeleteVery good how did she do on it. Karen Ryker
ReplyDeleteNice! Joanna McMichael Wilson
ReplyDeleteGood job! Darren N Jessie Brown
ReplyDeleteNice! Rob Green
ReplyDeleteWell done! Nancy Rector
ReplyDeleteI know you can eat them both. Robert Benefield
ReplyDeleteGreat read; I enjoyed reading it and learning the historical information.. Sharon Booth
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMy NY meat buyer that just came to my gamy said it was 65 cents a pound so she only paid me 1.25. Chris Scoville
ReplyDeleteHere in NJ grocery store rabbit processed and dressed is going for an average of $7 a lb...
ReplyDeleteI sell 8 week old meat mixes for bout $20 live (average of $4/lb) to do as they wish. $25 if they want pedigree info for breeding purposes (i keep peds even on my meat mixes)
Cant say about ny but sounds like someone took you for a ride... .65 a lb live woudlnt even cover feed cost to fully weaned. Gemma Martin
Well not for a ride. Here we have to take it to get it processed and stamped by the state. I butcher for friends and family. She sells to restaurants and at farmers markets. Loves my rabbits as I do not use antibiotics and they are basically organic. Chris Scoville
ReplyDeletewow she did a great job. Brian Davis
ReplyDeletewell obviouly if your selling to resturaunts and such it a little different but .65/lb still seems VERY low to me...
ReplyDeletei dont sell processed, people buy live and what they do form there is their business...(nj ha strict rules about selling anything that the state hant taken its fee for first lol)
if i were to sell processed i would take to a usda processor myelf and then charge market price for the finnished product of around $6.50 a lb (still les than the grocery store but a better procudt for the consumer...) (missing out the middle man means more money in my feed account! Gemma Martin
Agreed. I will be checking into taking to get state processed myself and sell on my own. I got rid of 55 today and most were over 6 pounds. Chris Scoville
ReplyDeleteI do all my own butchering. It's going to be an up and coming article in the series I'm doing. This cultural background one is #2 in the series. Alexis Elizabeth
ReplyDeleteI also keep track of live and fully dressed weights for each one I butcher. .65 cents a pound isn't worth my time, money, nor the effort I put in daily caring for the critters.
ReplyDeleteFebruary 22 at 10:33pm · Like
Here's the FB page for my rabbitry, just got it up and running. More updates to follow. Alexis Elizabeth https://m.facebook.com/aelburrowrabbitry