Rabbit Ears

 Rabbit ears.  The thought of their ears normally isn't much.  When we think of rabbit ears (or any ears, for that matter), you instantly think of hearing.  Ears are what allow bunnies (and everything else) the ability to hear.

And while this is an extremely important function...rabbit ears do a little more than just that.

A rabbit's body temperature is regulated by their ears.  This is crucial information for anyone who owns a bunny.

If your rabbit is too hot, you can mist cool water on the outside of their ears, helping to cool them down.  If your rabbit is too cold, you need to warm their ears up.  If a rabbit gets frostbite on it's ears...your bunny's chances aren't good.

This is why it's important to know.  These tips can literally save your bunny's life.

Now, a rabbit's hearing is extremely sensitive.  They can hear things from great distances away.  This is because of their large ears.  Now, there obviously are breeds such as the Lops, which means their ears go down.  But for the most part, rabbits ears go straight up.  When a rabbit is listening, they can turn their ears in almost any direction, allowing them to fully focus on any noise. 

They also communicate a lot through the use of their ears.  Here are a few examples:

1) Ears Straight Up - this means the rabbit is on high alert.  If it's eyes also appear a bit bulged when this happens, you should give your rabbit some space.  Eye bulged along with ears straight up means your rabbit is terrified.  In this state, your bunny might easily bit, thinking it needs to protect itself.

2) Ears Laid Back - this means your bunny is totally relaxed/trusting.  Since ears up means it's listening/on alert, if both ears are flat back, the rabbit clearly feels safe being with you.  You therefore, pose no threat, allowing the rabbit to completely relax and put it's guard down.

3) One Ear Up, One Ear Down - this means your bunny is more curious then anything else.  The ear down, represents it feels safe, but the one ear up represents it's still a little unsure or interested in what's going on.  If you take a rabbit into an area it's never been before, it will probably do this.  It will feel safe being with you, but curious to all the new sounds it now hears. 

There you go, a little bit on information on the complexity of rabbit ears and how they can correlate to their behavior.