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.
Image credits: SWNS
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.
Image credits: SWNS
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.
Image credits: SWNS
“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.”
Image credits: SWNS
“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.
Image credits: SWNS
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.
Image credits: SWNS
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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Lion? Have you ever seen a lion?
They have tiny ears :-)
Lion ears are not so tiny, pretty normal size for panthera species. And lions are huge. And they have predator eyes, in the front of their faces. And relatively long, muscular legs. And the males have voluminous manes, while the females are sleek and not at all like this fluffy bunny. I agree with one commenter -- this cute little rabbit reminds me of a guinea pig.
"I want to be a lion tamer! I love lions, they don't scare me at all. Lively brown furry things with short stumpy legs and great long nosesl! They eat only ants, indeed."
What are you quoting?
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.
Not seeing the "lion" - I think they're "LION" about this.
Lion? Have you ever seen a lion?
They have tiny ears :-)
Lion ears are not so tiny, pretty normal size for panthera species. And lions are huge. And they have predator eyes, in the front of their faces. And relatively long, muscular legs. And the males have voluminous manes, while the females are sleek and not at all like this fluffy bunny. I agree with one commenter -- this cute little rabbit reminds me of a guinea pig.
"I want to be a lion tamer! I love lions, they don't scare me at all. Lively brown furry things with short stumpy legs and great long nosesl! They eat only ants, indeed."
What are you quoting?
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.
Not seeing the "lion" - I think they're "LION" about this.