Rabbits Like Carrots!

Would you like to learn a bit more about rabbits, the loveable little living creatures we sometimes keep in our houses as pets? We always think of them with their snow-white fur, which we take such pleasure in stroking, and the way they gnaw carrots. Let's explore some of the interesting characteristics of these animals with which we are not familiar:

If you try to approach a rabbit, you will immediately recognise how fast it escapes. Do you know that these creatures can readily sense their enemies with their long ears even while their heads are down eating grass? Owing to this keen sense of hearing, you can hardly approach them without them noticing you. Before long, they will perceive a minor noise or movement and will run away.

Rabbits become 50 to 70 centimetres (19 to 27 inches) long when they grow into adults. Their hind limbs are longer and stronger than their forelimbs. That is why they can run 60 to 70 kilometres (37 to 43 miles)per hour and can leap six metres (20 feet) forward at a time. A rabbit can move faster than a car travelling within the city does.

All rabbits possess these characteristics at birth. Allah has created them as fast runners and thus enabled them to escape their predators easily.

What do you think the answer of a rabbit would be if we were to ask it, "Which food do you like most?" Yes, you are right! He would certainly say "carrots." (Meanwhile, remember that carrots are good for our eyes.) Well, do you know that rabbits live in the warrens they dig under the ground, and that carrots grow towards the depths of the earth? As you may understand from this question, carrots have been created in the most appropriate way to meet rabbits' needs.

Also for us, human beings, Allah has made everything easy to use. Take, for instance, the orange you eat in wintertime. If it were not in segments, it would be very hard for you to eat it, because it is so juicy. However, Allah, Who has created everything you see around you, has also created this delicious fruit full of vitamin C in its segmented form, ready to eat, in its special package. Now back to rabbits! A rabbit can easily gnaw a carrot with its continually growing front teeth that give it such a lovely look.

Apart from their nutritional needs, Allah has given living creatures many features that make life easy for them. Various rabbit species with different characteristics live on earth. Rabbits living in cold regions, for example, are mostly white in colour. This is an important feature that makes them invisible on the snow and enables them to hide themselves effortlessly. Wild rabbits, which are relatively bigger than other rabbits, have longer limbs and ears. The desert American rabbit, on the other hand, has quite large ears. These ears help rabbits to keep themselves cool.

In nature, most animals live in particular territories they mark out for themselves. This is similar to us living in our comfortable homes surrounded by our family members. Animals and animal groups usually avoid entering other animals' territories. "Leaving a scent" is a method employed by animals to mark their territories. Gazelles, for instance, leave a substance with a scent similar to tar on long thin branches and grasses to mark their territory. This substance, secreted from the glands under their eyes, informs other gazelles that this field is already occupied. Reindeer, on the other hand, have scent glands on the tip of their hind feet with which they mark their territory. Rabbits mark their territories with glands on their chins.

As we have seen, Allah has created animals with very interesting and important characteristics. Learning all these makes us astonished at the flawless creation of Allah. We remember that Allah is our Creator and we feel grateful to Him. Remember that Allah has commanded people to think about His blessings and be thankful. In a verse of the Qur'an, Allah informs us that He will reward those who are thankful:

We will recompense the thankful. (Surah Al 'Imran: 145)

Children! So, you must also remember to be thankful for the blessings and beauty with which you are surrounded.