Hares and Rabbits: Leporidae

Rabbits and hares have several types of social structure. Most rabbits and hares in the wild live solitary lives, although they will often graze together, and are not territorial. The European rabbit is very social. It lives in "warrens," groups of six to twelve adults controlled by a dominant male. The warren consists of a maze of burrows and chambers.

Rabbits breed throughout the year depending upon the climate, with spring and summer being the general breeding seasons in the wild. Females have multiple litters per year with litter sizes of two to eight babies on average, although it can be as high as 15 babies. The gestation period, the length of time the mother carries her babies in the womb, is twenty-five to fifty days, with the longer periods occurring in hares.