rabbits and hares
Rabbits and hares are two closely related species in Scarterra mostly similar to their real world counterparts.
The main distinguishing traits between rabbits and hares is that hares a little bigger in overall size, have proportionally longer ears and hind legs, and hares usually live alone or in pairs while rabbits tend to form burrows or warren of a couple dozen individuals. After this paragraph, assume any reference to "rabbits" means "rabbits and hares".
Basic Information
Anatomy
Rabbits and quadrepeds known for their long ears and proportionally powerful legs.
Genetics and Reproduction
by me with Midjourney
Rabbits are famous for their fast breeding. Rabbits provide very little care to their young and have few natural defenses relying on rapid breeding for the species to survive.
Rabbits gestation period of roughly 30 days and female rabbits can become impregnated again literally minutes after giving birth.
Additional Information
Domestication
Domesticated variants of rabbits are found throughout Scarterra, especially in areas where other sources of meat are scarce.
In a few cases, upper class people keep adorable rabbits as pets, but the vast majority of time, domesticated rabbits are raised for their meat and fur.
Uses, Products & Exploitation
Rabbits and hares are valued for their meat and their fur by peasants and princes a like. Whether coneys are considered a high class food or a low class depends mostly on how they are prepared.
Many nations often restrict who can hunt rabbits and where. There are often woods or fields that are the private domain of the local lord and there are woods or fields that are open to the masses.
How tightly restricted hunting and trapping rabbits depends largely on how much the local nobility likes eating rabbits and how much they like falconry.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Rabbits can be found in every corner of Scarterra but they are most common in cooler temperate inland areas.
Like most other Scarterran beasts, rabbits are susceptable to elemental influences.
Earthy rabbits tend to be a bit bigger and slower, but they are often very powerful jumpers and can outspeed other rabbits on the sprint by jumping.
Airy rabbits tend to be a bit lankier and faster and better able to handle cold.
Watery rabbits tend to be a cleverer and are surprisingly good swimmer.
Fiery rabbits are able to fast when food and water is limited better than other rabbits and to a limited extant can fight back against predators or threats.
In general, airy/earthy hybrid rabbits tend to be the most successful and spreading and breeding.
These sorts of bunnies are especially common in the northern latitudes of West Colassia and East Colassia have many such lapines.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Rabbits tend to have keen senses, especially hearing. Making them hard to surprise.
Civilization and Culture
History
Rabbits breed fast. It is not clear whether they date back at least the the Second Age. They were a commonly sought out game animal throughout the Age.
If dragons existed in the the First Age or even the Age Before Ages, the dragons did not find them important enough to write about.
Theologians debate whether rabbits were a gift a scourage to mortalkind. There are many contradictory apocryphal stories about the divine or metaphysical origin of rabbits.
Lifespan
2 years (wild), 7 years (domestic)
Geographic Distribution
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