The rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) has a deserved reputation for rapid reproduction. A healthy female often has more than one litter of up to eight young within a breeding season. They are born helpless and without sight or fur, but within four to five months are themselves ready to breed. Rabbits live in large groups, burrowing to form complex warrens with living chambers. A strict hierarchy is maintained and adults can be surprisingly aggressive with one another. Active day or night, they crop grass closely and damage crops by scraping away soil. As a prey species they are always alert and signal danger by drumming their feet. The flashing white tail is also an alarm sign.
Now considered a pest in many areas around the world, rabbits played a major role in the extinction of some marsupials following their introduction to Australia in the 1800s. At Easter Australians celebrate with chocolate replicas of the bilby, a long eared marsupial now threatened by the rabbit's success.