Ears have always been the most recognizable feature of rabbits, making it hard to imagine how they would look without them. Nevertheless, nature works in peculiar ways, and sometimes a rabbit is born with no fluffy, pointy ears in sight. Recently, one such bunny was born to an owner named Kylie Clarke from Belfast, Northern Ireland. Possibly due to a genetic mutation, her tiny bunny came into this world with a slightly different appearance than the other rabbits.
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The owner decided to name her Leo for a very good reason. The tiny bunny looks a little bit like a baby lion. “She’s just beautiful. We called her Leo because she just looks like a wee mini lion,” Clarke said.
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Leo was born 6 weeks ago, and although she’s a bit lacking in the ears department, she seems to be a healthy and happy rabbit.
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“Once Leo was born, I knew something wasn’t right, she didn’t look right. Then, as she got older, you could see she’s been born with completely no ears.”
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“I was really scared at the start, but when I started doing a bit more research, I realized it’s so, so rare to happen, but it can happen. As far as I’ve researched, there’s no spot-on explanation, really. She’s otherwise happy and healthy,” Clarke said.
Image credits: SWNS
While the real reason why some rabbits are born lacking ears is unclear, their floppy ears serve an important function, especially for those growing up in the wild.
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Ears help the animal detect and avoid predators by monitoring the sounds that surround them. Rabbits can hear sounds coming from up to 3 km away. Also, ears help with the thermoregulation of their bodies.
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