From their fluffy little cottonwool ball tails to their soft, droopy ears, we can’t deny that rabbits are some of the cutest animals to grace our planet.
So when we found out about an island Japan that is practically full to the burst with rabbits, we knew that we’d have to book a ticket to visit them as soon as possible!
In an extract shared onto YouTube by BBC, taken from their show Nature’s Weirdest Events, we get an amazing insight into Rabbit Island, located in Takehara, Japan.
The island is literally teeming with hundreds and thousands of these little bundles of joy.
So why are there so many? And how did they get here?
Anyone who’s ever seen a rabbit in the wild before will know that it’s rare for the rabbit to be out for long before they retreat back to their hidey-holes.
Well, it turns out that rabbits tend to run quickly from one destination to another so that they are less likely to be caught by a predator. Wildlife expert Dr. Sasha Norris says:
“A wild rabbit is a classic prey animal, so it’s a muscular, highly nutritious parcel of meat for loads of predators and it has no defenses. What is can do is run away really fast, and it has fantastically long ears and big eyes for detecting predators.”
It goes without saying that a wild rabbit is normally a nervous rabbit.
So then why are the rabbits on Rabbit Island so brave? Rather than fleeing at the first sign of an intruder, these fluffy darlings actually chase visitors.
Apparently, this could all be down to the island’s past.
During the second World War, this island was used to make poisonous gas. For secrecy and safety, the population was evacuated.
But when the plant was abandoned after the war, one theory is that the lab rabbits that were used to test the effects of the gas had made their escape.
Another theory is that some school children released their pet rabbits onto the island in the 1970s, and the rabbits we can see here now are their ancestors.
While we’ll never know for sure, there is an explanation for why these little guys are so tame.
The simple fact is, there’s not a single predator on the island, meaning that our furry little friends have a complete lack of fear.
And the reason why the rabbits are so friendly to humans is purely because of one thing: food.
With so many rabbits populating the island, they’d soon get through all the natural vegetation! So it’s very lucky that they can be given delicious treats by the friendly tourists who visit the island.
And in case you’re wondering, the reason why there are so many rabbits on the island is down to the whole, no predators thing.
Apparently, rabbits usually breed really quickly, and one female and her offspring could theoretically produce up to fifty THOUSAND rabbits in just three years!
Predators normally wipe out around eighty percent of these little guys, but on an island where these predators don’t exist, the numbers just keep growing and growing!
Is anyone else still amazed that an island like this actually exists?
We know exactly where we’ll be going once this lockdown is over!
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
