How Long Do Wild Rabbits Live? Rabbit Lifespan Facts

Wild rabbit lifespan at a glance

Rabbits follow a “live fast, die young” strategy. They mature within months, breed several times a year and produce large numbers of young, because so few survive. Lifespan figures therefore depend on whether you count babies: the average is very low, but adults that survive early life do much better.

How long do European rabbits live?

The European rabbit is the wild rabbit of Europe and the ancestor of pet rabbits. Studies of wild colonies show that mortality in the first year often reaches about 90%. Kittens are most at risk in the nest and in the first weeks after they emerge, at about three weeks old, when they are small, inexperienced and easy to catch.

Rabbits that survive to adulthood have a better chance. Living in a warren with many entrances, close to cover, and as part of a group with many watchful eyes helps adults avoid predators. Dominant rabbits, which get the best feeding areas and nest sites, tend to survive and breed better than low-ranking ones. Even so, very few wild rabbits see a fourth or fifth year, and around nine years appears to be the upper limit.

How long do cottontails live?

The eastern cottontail of North America has an even shorter life. Its average lifespan in the wild is about 15 months, and only around one adult in five survives from one year to the next. The longest-lived wild cottontail on record reached about five years. In captivity, safe from predators, cottontails have lived to about nine.

Cottontails do not dig warrens. They rest in shallow hollows in the grass, called forms, and rely on hiding, freezing and zigzag running at up to about 29 km/h (18 mph) to escape. This lifestyle makes them easy prey for hawks, owls, foxes, coyotes, bobcats, snakes and domestic cats.

Why do wild rabbits die so young?

Several pressures combine to keep wild rabbit lives short:

• Predators. Rabbits are a staple food for a long list of hunters, including foxes, stoats, weasels, polecats, wildcats, badgers, buzzards, eagles and owls in Europe, and coyotes, bobcats, hawks and owls in North America. Badgers and foxes dig out nests of helpless kittens.
• Disease. Myxomatosis and rabbit hemorrhagic disease can wipe out large parts of a population. Myxomatosis killed up to 99% of infected rabbits when it first spread in the 1950s, and new strains of hemorrhagic disease still cause heavy losses.
• Weather. Flooded burrows drown nestlings, and long cold, wet spells or droughts reduce food and weaken rabbits.
• Competition. In crowded colonies, low-ranking does are pushed into poor nest sites away from the warren, where their young are more likely to be found by predators.
• People and traffic. Roads, farm machinery and hunting add further losses in many areas.

Why do pet rabbits live longer?

Domestic rabbits belong to the same species as the wild European rabbit, yet they often live 8–12 years. The difference is mostly about risk rather than biology. A protected rabbit does not face predators, harsh weather or food shortages, and vaccines and veterinary care reduce the toll of disease. The same pattern is seen in many small mammals: wild lifespans are short because of what happens to them, not because their bodies wear out quickly.

Guinness World Records lists a rabbit named Flopsy, from Tasmania, as the oldest on record at nearly 19 years, an age no wild rabbit is ever likely to reach.

How rabbits make up for short lives

A short life does not mean a failing species. A European rabbit doe can breed from around three to four months old, and pregnancy lasts only about 30 days. With several litters of 3–7 young each year, one female can produce a few dozen young in a good breeding season. This is how rabbit populations bounce back after hard winters or disease outbreaks, and why introduced rabbits spread so fast in places such as Australia.

Rabbits vs hares: who lives longer?

Hares are larger, live above ground and give birth to furred, open-eyed young that can move almost immediately. Adult European hares have been recorded living up to about 12 years, but like rabbits, most die young. For a full look at how the two differ, see rabbit vs hare.