Who is he, the world's largest rabbit? Giant rabbits: bigger than many dogs

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

People have always been interested in "the best". And it is not at all necessary that the record holders belong specifically to the human race: representatives of flora and fauna are no less curious to us. Even the famous children's riddle jokes speak of this: “Who is stronger: an elephant or a whale?”, “Who will win: a bear or a shark?” Yes, and in the famous Guinness book there are sections: "The highest mammal", "The smallest bird", "The oldest tree" …

Rabbits and their sizes

Agriculture also has not escaped the competition for the cultivation of "very-most". In particular, rabbit breeders have long sought to increase the profitability of their occupation - to breed larger individuals. In general, with regard to parameters, rabbits are often compared with cats - they do not differ much in size from pets. It is known that the average rabbit weighsabout the same as a cat.

In the 19th century, the imagination of onlookers at fairs was struck by bred animals weighing 5-6 kilograms. In those days, it was believed that even the largest rabbit in the world could not weigh more. Now the breeds of the Soviet chinchilla, Burgundy, California stably supply individuals of about 6 kg in weight, and this is considered the norm. Giant rabbits of the French ram breed reach a weight of 10 kg, Flemish - 11, and the Flemish giant, bred from the Flemish breed, reaches up to 15 kg, and is taller than many breeds of dogs!

Dynasty of Giants

In Britain there is an unremarkable family named Edwards, who became world famous only because they have the largest rabbit in the world at the moment. The record holder is called Darius (or Darius), and he is descended from the same unique animals. The beginning was laid by his grandmother, nicknamed Emmy, supported by his father named Ellis, but his son had already overtaken both. At the moment, the growth (length) of the giant is as much as 132 cm, and the weight has risen to 22.6 kg. Given that the animal is still quite young and continues to grow, albeit much more slowly, there is a high probability that these parameters will increase even more.

Record holder's diet, or what it costs the owners to maintain

It is worth recognizing that the world's largest rabbit is an animal that is quite overhead financially, because it is too voracious. On the day it takes 12 medium-sized carrots, a couple of cabbage heads and six apples. And these are just the must-have dishes on his menu! They are also accompanied by other delicacies (greens and vegetables), albeit not eaten in such quantities. The owners admit that it takes 50 pounds a week to meet Darius's nutritional needs, which is by no means a penny.

Rival Rabbits

As in any competition, Darius is not the only contender for the title (even if he sounds like "The Biggest Rabbit in the World"). His predecessor was also a Briton with the nickname Ralph, who had in his mothers the same record holder Amy, who is Daria's grandmother. By the way, until 2010, it was Ralph who was included in the treasured book as a victorious giant. Now, according to the hostess, he has already overtaken his competitor, and she has applied for a "case review." At the same time, the owner of the rabbit (Polina Grant) admits that veterinarians advised her to limit her pet in food, but she does not want to deprive him of her favorite "sweets", which is why she did not follow the advice. At the same time, Grant assures that Ralph is not obese, has a good physical shape and is quite mobile.

Going to argue with both of them and the third contender - a rabbit named Benny. Its length at the time of measurements reached 122 cm, but the owners (a married couple named Heather) made them for a long time, and the rabbit is only 2 years old, so, they believe, the animal has long outgrown these indicators.

It seems interesting that all the biggest rabbits in the world are English. Either the food in Britain is better, or the air is cleaner, or the vegetables are thicker…