EEEK!...It's a Lagomorph! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Texas, USA

Black-tailed jackrabbits are found in North America, and despite their names, are actually hares, not rabbits. Hares have fur when they are born, unlike rabbits. In adulthood, they are larger than rabbits and have longer ears. The black-tailed hare has long, powerful legs which it uses to reach speeds of 40mph (64kmh).

Their strong legs help propel them in leaps which can reach more than ten feet or three meters.

Answer: Grass

The Mongolian pika's diet is almost exclusively grass. These herbivorous little animals will collect grass and hide it under rocks and in small caves for when the frigid winter sets in. The moment anyone gets near their stash they will emit a high pitched whistle which will usually drive the interloper away.

Answer: False

The Arctic hare can be found in the frigid environment of the North American tundra. Despite the freezing temperatures, these animals do not hibernate and have been seen huddling together in communal shelters to keep warm. They have a thick coat that is brilliant white in the winter which changes into a blue-gray color in spring.

The Arctic hare eats moss, lichens, bark, berries and roots. Native Americans were very dependent on the Arctic hare as both a food source and for their fur, which was used to make winter clothing.

Answer: Leveret

An adult male hare is a buck, and an adult female is a doe. Baby hares are called leverets. A group of hares or rabbits is called a herd. Baby hares and baby rabbits look completely different. Baby rabbits are born blind, naked and below ground. Hares are born with fur and much more developed.

As rabbits and hares are found all over the world, litter size and gestation periods do vary. But any female lagomorph, of any kind, can breed within its first year.

Answer: Orylag rabbit

The Orylag rabbit is only bred in a few farms in France. Orylag rabbits have been genetically altered to produce the maximum amount of fur. Their fur is highly valued by designers such as Dior, Channel, and Fendi. The mothers will have litters of about seven babies, but sometimes as large as 12.

The kittens stay with their mother for one month before being removed so that their fur cannot be damaged. They are then killed at 20 weeks of age when their fur is at its finest. The process will then start all over again.

Answer: Asia

All but two of the thirty living species of pika live in Asia. Fossil remains indicate show that pikas are over fifteen million years old. They are thought to have crossed from Asia to North America using the Bering Land Bridge. Multiple fossils of this animal have been found in both the U.S. and Canada. Where they originated is a matter of scholarly debate.

Answer: China

The idea of a rabbit on the moon is a concept that is found in the mythology and religions from China, Japan, and Korea, as well as the Aztec mythology on the other side of the world. In Asia, the white hare/rabbit is responsible for making the potion of immortality.

There are variations of this myth, but all of these cultures base part of it on the shadows of the moon that look like a rabbit to them. Also, because rabbits and hares produce quickly, at a very young age, and somewhat prolifically, they are often associated with life, fertility, and pregnancy. China does not have native rabbits, but does have hares.

Answer: Their wool is valuable.

The Angora rabbit produces beautiful soft Angora wool. Their wool is harvested 2-3 times a year. The largest producer of Angora rabbits is China where they are produced for economic reasons, not as pets. These animals are raised inside which can double their lifespan to twelve years. Female Angoras should have their first litter before they turn one year old. If breeding is not started at 5-6 months, the pelvic bones of the Angora fuse rendering them incapable of bearing young.

Answer: False

Lagomorphs and rodents are both mammals and give birth to live young. Both have continuously growing chisel shaped incisors. Differences include that lagomorphs are strictly herbivorous while rodents are not. Lagomorphs have two pair of incisors, while rodents only have one pair. Male rodents have a baculum (penis bone) while lagomorphs do not. Lagomorphs have very short or no tails, while many rodents have long tails.

In the end, this statement is false, lagomorphs are not rodents.

Answer: Australia

Not everyone loves lagomorphs. Rabbits have caused millions and millions of dollars in crop damage and have upset the ecosystems in which they were released. In Australia, within ten years of their introduction, millions of rabbits were being shot every year without making any kind of dent in the population. Rabbits breed so prolifically that they can cause extinctions of other ecosystems within years of being introduced.

A couple of measures have been tried including the introduction of diseases as well as 'rabbit-proof fences'. One of the longest of these fences was built in Western Australia in 1907 and was over 2,023 miles (3,256 km) long when it was fully completed.

While this fence and others like have helped curtail the spread, they have certainly not stopped it.