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Animal profile

European Rabbit

Oryctolagus cuniculus

MammaliaShort grassland, scrub, dunes and farmland with diggable soilEndangered

Field profile

The European rabbit is the ancestor of every domestic rabbit breed and a keystone species in Iberian ecosystems. It lives colonially in warrens and breeds rapidly. In its native range it has collapsed under two introduced viral diseases, while introduced populations elsewhere remain destructive pests.

Scope note

This is an editorial profile, not a diagnostic field-identification guide or a substitute for current conservation assessments. Follow the cited sources on each fact for the evidence trail.

Published field notes

2026-01-14

European Rabbit

The world's most invasive rabbit is endangered

The European rabbit is a byword for uncontrollable increase in Australia, yet in Iberia, where it evolved, myxomatosis and rabbit haemorrhagic disease have cut it so far that the IUCN lists the species as Endangered.

Read with evidence →

European Rabbit | Daily Animal Facts