Ears have always been the most recognizable feature of rabbits, making it hard to imagine how they would look without them. Nevertheless, nature works in peculiar ways, and sometimes a rabbit is born with no fluffy, pointy ears in sight. Recently, one such bunny was born to an owner named Kylie Clarke from Belfast, Northern Ireland. Possibly due to a genetic mutation, her tiny bunny came into this world with a slightly different appearance than the other rabbits.
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The owner decided to name her Leo for a very good reason. The tiny bunny looks a little bit like a baby lion. “She’s just beautiful. We called her Leo because she just looks like a wee mini lion,” Clarke said.
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Leo was born 6 weeks ago, and although she’s a bit lacking in the ears department, she seems to be a healthy and happy rabbit.
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“Once Leo was born, I knew something wasn’t right, she didn’t look right. Then, as she got older, you could see she’s been born with completely no ears.”
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“I was really scared at the start, but when I started doing a bit more research, I realized it’s so, so rare to happen, but it can happen. As far as I’ve researched, there’s no spot-on explanation, really. She’s otherwise happy and healthy,” Clarke said.
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While the real reason why some rabbits are born lacking ears is unclear, their floppy ears serve an important function, especially for those growing up in the wild.
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Ears help the animal detect and avoid predators by monitoring the sounds that surround them. Rabbits can hear sounds coming from up to 3 km away. Also, ears help with the thermoregulation of their bodies.
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Leo is a beauty, and she does look like a guinea pig. I've had a couple of rabbits over the years, and they make lovely pets.
My rabbits, even the minis, all got along well with my cats. The cats, even the ones trained by their mothers to be hunters, never tried to hurt the rabbits. They learned not to play rough "carnivore games" with the rabbits the way they would with other cats or dogs, and responded to them more as they would to young kittens. I've even had dogs over the years that could learn to be gentle with the rabbits. I think people that have never had a pet rabbit don't realize what super personalities they have. They are quieter and more low-key than cats and dogs, but they have their own unique charm. And many of them are real cuddle-bugs. They can be house-broken, too.
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Leo is a beauty, and she does look like a guinea pig. I've had a couple of rabbits over the years, and they make lovely pets.
My rabbits, even the minis, all got along well with my cats. The cats, even the ones trained by their mothers to be hunters, never tried to hurt the rabbits. They learned not to play rough "carnivore games" with the rabbits the way they would with other cats or dogs, and responded to them more as they would to young kittens. I've even had dogs over the years that could learn to be gentle with the rabbits. I think people that have never had a pet rabbit don't realize what super personalities they have. They are quieter and more low-key than cats and dogs, but they have their own unique charm. And many of them are real cuddle-bugs. They can be house-broken, too.
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